Fire Dragons Don't Breathe Ice
by DarkraixCresselia
Summary: That's what every dragon of Crystal's clan believed until she was born. And for that reason, she was deemed an outcast. Upon reaching adulthood, she leaves her entire home, and meets up with an interesting duo of a raccoon and tree, and soon has the adventure of a lifetime.
1. Prologue

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

* * *

_Everyone has a backstory._

_Everyone from simple folk, to the greatest king of a nation, or even planet._

_Everyone has a story of how they came to be, whether it's a simple life story, or an epic tale of adventure. But sometimes it starts out simple, and ends up being one of the greatest adventures anyone, man, beast, or alien, has ever witnessed or heard._

_But no matter if it's simple or epic, everyone has a backstory._

_This is mine._

* * *

One would think that fire-breathing dragons, with bellies full of fire, would have no difficulties during the winter. But they live by hot volcanoes for most of the year, and thus are used to the heat. The cold, to them, is like someone jumping into icy-cold water during the summer; a big shock due to the temperature change.

And so the cold can be a killer for Ignis egg clutches. Some Ignis mates exchanged bittersweet tails of eggs lost to the icy winds and cold snow of winter. Thus, eggs are rarely laid near winter months if it could be helped.

Two Ignis dragons had a clutch of eggs during the winter, a time of grief and difficulty for Ignis. When the time came for their eggs to hatch, nothing stirred. Despite the parents keeping them warm by sitting on them and breathing fire on the stone nest, all of the eggs died.

Or so they thought.

One egg shook. At first, they thought it was a trick of the eye. But as they stared at it, the egg shook again. Harder this time. Finally, there was a crack in the marbled orange and red shell—which strangely had blue flecks, though everyone decided it was from them being laid in the winter.

"Oh, one of our draclings survived!" The mother, Indira, had cried out, nuzzling her mate, Sarosh. He nuzzled her back, smiling proudly at his strong little dracling.

"Come, now, little one. Your mother and I are waiting."

The egg continued to shake and crack, and eventually small pieces fell away. After what felt to the two adults like hours, a small dracling wriggled out of the egg pieces, wet and shaking. But she wasn't shaking from cold, but rather from getting the egg fluids off.

Like all Ignis draclings, she was orange with leathery-wings. But some Ignis details were missing: her normally-red stripes, horns, back spikes, claws, and eyes were icy-blue, her chest and belly were furry instead of plated, and her tail had a light-blue spear instead of a red flame-shaped spade.

Indira and Sarosh stared down at their child in surprise. She looked up at them with equal confusion, and then cooed happily, recognizing them as her parents.

"…Indira? Why does she have…blue?"

"I don't know, Sarosh." She shook her head. "Perhaps it's like the rest of our eggs? Because they were laid in winter, and she hatched in winter?"

"…Perhaps." He nodded. "At any rate, what shall we call her?"

Indira lay down in the nest, paying no attention to the other eggs—they hadn't budged like their sister, and so were considered dead—and nudged her dracling close to her body to warm her up. "…Crystal. She shall be named Crystal."

"Crystal…born during the times of crystal-like ice. It fits her perfectly." Sarosh nodded, laying down and placing his head next to his newly-christened daughter. She was only the size of his snout, yet despite this, and being born in the most-hated and feared season for ignis dragons, she seemed strong. Instead of huddling close to her mother, she climbed onto her father's snout, cooing happily.

Despite the strange color on his daughter's body, and the chance she wouldn't survive the harsh winter of Drakonehm, Sarosh couldn't help but smile proudly.

* * *

**A/N So I've taken a month-long break from writing, but I have a few ideas for fanfics; a sequel to my Felidae fanfic (a Felidae/Warriors crossover) a story for the live-action Grinch movie, one for the Black Cauldron movie, and one for Guardians of the Galaxy: this fanfic. But it might be a bit slow with writing this, as well as the Grinch fanfic, which I started recently as well.**

**I already made one GotG fanfic, though it was simply a oneshot, introducing Crystal after the events of the movie. In this, it'll show her past, how she met Rocket and Groot, and her involvement in the movie. One that ends, the oneshot can be considered the sequel, even though it was posted first. It's kind of like the Star War movies, I suppose.**

**I decided to make three species of dragons instead of having all of them breathe fire because A) that's kind of boring, and B) I have a book called "Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons" that implies other dragons breathe ice. And in How to Train Your Dragon (haven't seen the sequel yet, so don't spoil it please) at least one dragon (or half of one) breathed gas. So, I had the three dragon species in this breathe fire, ice, and poisonous gas to make it interesting.**

**The word "Ignis" is Latin for "fire." The other two dragon species will have their own Latin-based names as well. Crystal's parents were chosen on a random name generator (I can't remember their name language[s]) Crystal was just chosen randomly a long time ago.**

**Even though this seems to have nothing to do with Guardians of the Galaxy, rest assured, it's in the movie's universe. I'll try not to dawdle too much with the backstory for Crystal, and actually try to get her into territory that would seem like it fits in with the movie, it that makes sense.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

* * *

At the beginning, Indira and Sarosh never suspected anything else about Crystal was different aside from having blue stripes and eyes. At the time of her birth, it was a simple defect in color, similar to an Ignis having a lighter or darker shade of orange or red. But it soon became apparent that her blue color wasn't the only thing different about her.

What separated each species of dragon on Drakonehm—Ignis, the fire dragons, Glaciem, the ice dragons, and Venenum, the poison gas dragons—was not just their different color schemes; it was their element breath. Ignises breathed fire, Glaciems breathed ice, and Venenums breathed poisonous gas.

But Crystal, though she was an Ignis, didn't follow her species' biology. One day, just after she met the rest of her clan, and when she was alone with her parents, she sneezed. This may seem unimportant to both man and beast. Especially when it's normal for Ignis to have tiny flames fly from their noses when they sneezed.

But Crystal sneezed snowflakes.

The first time this happened, Indira and Sarosh stared in astonishment and horror. Crystal simply shook her head and giggled.

"…Indira?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "P-Perhaps it also came from being born during winter?"

"What will the rest of the clan think…no." Sarosh snorted. "They won't know. She'll have to learn to keep her…_ice_ breath a secret."

"It can't be kept secret forever." Indira sighed. "You know that, Sarosh."

"Perhaps it can. I'll have no one know that my daughter breathes the same breath as our enemies."

* * *

For several months, somehow, no one was none the wiser about a young dracling breathing ice instead of fire. Not even her new friends knew. And when they all began dragon school, learning how to survive on their own if they wished to live as rogues and/or start their own clans, and how to hunt, they never needed to show their fire breath. Everyone assumed each and every Ignis dracling breathed fire, and knew how to do so. So Crystal's secret was kept just that: secret.

As her father wanted, she learned to keep her ice breath a secret. Especially when she revealed that the snowflakes that flew from her nose wasn't a fluke. She had frozen a puddle just outside their cave in front of her mother. Indira had panicked, pulling her daughter under herself and thawing out the puddle with her own fire breath.

Crystal had been taught that though her ice breath wasn't her fault, no one else would like it—which was the worst thing in the world for a child of any alien species in the universe—and to keep it secret. That meant she couldn't freeze anything or anyone, and had to try and not sneeze.

For the most part, she understood, though she only understood that she needed to keep her ice breath a secret. She didn't quite understand why it was bad that she had icy breath instead of fiery. All she knew was that she was different, and in her parents' eyes, that was bad.

But one day, over a year after she was born—draclings were considered young children at this time—her class was required to test their fire breaths. This startled Crystal, and she tried to think up an excuse to not do the exercises; she had a cold, a sore throat, or her fire breath was weak. Unfortunately, this didn't fly, and she was instead chosen to go last.

Her friends didn't know that she didn't want to use her "fire" breath. They didn't know her icy secret. They just knew she was different, having blue stripes and eyes. They weren't wary of this though, and easily made friends with her. But they did hear their parents and family gossiping about the little dracling. They already thought she was a stroke of bad luck, having been born during the winter. "All we need is that dracling having ice breath."

On the day dragon school needed to test their fire breath, Crystal was a few draclings away from being called. It was during the summertime, the time for Ignises. They loved the summertime, while winter was the season for Glaciems. Crystal enjoyed both seasons, playing in the snow happily.

While she was waiting to be called, Crystal became aware of her nose starting to itch. She wrinkled it a few times, trying to get rid of the feeling. But it only grew. And just before she was called, she began inhaling deeply to sneeze. "Ahh-ahh-ahhhh…_Atchoo_!" She sneezed loudly, startling everyone. Snowflakes flew out of her nose and melted in the warm air instantly.

But not before everyone saw that she didn't breathe fire.

* * *

Crystal sat between her parents, head hung in shame. The dragon who taught the draclings was talking with her parents about what happened. "She was born during the cold months, so we figured that was why she has blue stripes and eyes, and breathed ice." Sarosh explained. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience she caused."

"She didn't hurt anyone," The teacher shook her head. "But she did surprise the other draclings, including me. I'm sorry, but I'll have to tell the elders about this."

"We tried to teach her to keep her ice breath a secret," Indira said. "But I suppose sneezing was unavoidable."

"I understand, but the elders will know eventually, whether by me telling them or not."

"I'm sorry." Crystal spoke up. "I didn't mean to sneeze."

"Hush." Sarosh said sternly.

Crystal laid down, blocking out the rest of the grown up talk.

* * *

The elders, which were a small group of older dragons who led the clan, were alerted that one particular dracling breathed not fire, but ice. They asked to see this particular dracling, and so Sarosh and Indira brought Crystal to them.

Under encouragement from her mother, and a harsh nudge from her father, she froze a small plant with her icy breath. "How did this happen?" The oldest Ignis asked.

"She was the only of our clutch to survive, which had been laid during the cold months." Sarosh said. "At the time, we only realized she had blue stripes and eyes. But we never thought she would have ice breath."

"I see." The elder nodded. "Unfortunately, and I think the others will agree with me, that she doesn't belong—"

"She's just a child!" Indira exclaimed. "And she doesn't know fully why she's being punished for being different! It wasn't her fault that she was born this way."

"We understand," The oldest elder's mate nodded. "But everyone else may not. Gossip had been already spreading about simply her eyes and stripes. And even though the whole clan didn't see her sneeze snowflakes, the draclings did, and they'll surely tell their parents. Word spreads quickly. And everyone won't be so sympathetic towards young Crystal."

"We understand." Sarosh nodded. "Unfortunately, as she proved today, we can't keep her ice breath a secret."

"So, what do you expect we do?" Indira asked harshly.

"…Perhaps we should pay our enemies a visit." The oldest elder said.

* * *

**A/N As I said before, Ignis is Latin for "Fire." The ice dragons are called Glaciem, Latin for "Ice," and the poisonous gas dragons are called Venenum, Latin for "Poison." I thought it would be more interesting to give them species names.**

**When I was creating Crystal, I thought it would be cute that when she sneezed, snowflakes flew out of her nose. This also works in revealing her ice breath, since Ignis draclings would sneeze out tiny flames.**

**Yep, I'm going this route: the protagonist is different, and that's deemed bad. The old Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer storyline. But I don't care. All five of the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy have a sort of dramatic backstory (except for Groot...what's his story in the comics?) and as far as I know, none of them have ones that Crys has in that they're different from their family.**

**BTW, I don't think I ever said it, but Crystal's clan isn't all of the Ignises on Drakonehm; it's just a group of them. Sort of like in Lion King, where the Pridelands pride is a lot of lions, but not the entire population of the species, if that makes any sense.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**random gal: I hope I do it well enough in that it's interesting, if that makes sense, then. I try and do that: write what I want, and not care if anyone else dislikes it (though if someone points out a thing they don't like, I DO think if I should change or not, especially if it'll make the story better or worse)**

**Thanks :)**

**I know. I actually wrote several chapters in advance (I'm working on chapter 5 at the moment) but I'm posting the next tomorrow, and then the next one on Friday, and so forth because I don't want to rush too fast, and put all of the chapters in place in one sitting, but at the same time, I want to get into setting and characters that look like they'd be in the movie, which might be a bit of a challenge, because while I've seen the movie, and have the DVD, I've never read the comics they were based on, or watched any cartoons they were in. So, I just might make up some aliens, or base some off of the movie. And once I get Rocket and Groot into the picture, THEN we'll be in GotG territory.**

**All in all, I know it doesn't seem like this is in GotG (that's also why I took so long to post this, as I was worried people wouldn't think this is a GotG fanfic, regardless of the category it's in) but I'll try not to dawdle in Crystal's backstory. I think I just might introduce our favorite raccoon/tree duo in chapter 6 or 7, depending on how much content I put in a chapter.**

**xXTigress1776Xx: Thanks :)**

* * *

Several days later, it was decided that the oldest elder, Adalwolf, Sarosh, Indira, and Crystal would travel to the snowy mountains, the home of the Glaciems, to see if they would take Crystal in, since she had the same ice breath as them. Indira had protested, saying she was her daughter, and that she must stay with her. "I'll stay with her with the Glaciems."

"You can't." Adalwolf shook his head. "Your place is with the Ignises. Besides, the Glaciems won't accept you."

"But they'll accept Crystal?"

"They might."

During the several days' time that the trip was planned, Crystal had lost her friends. When they told their parents that she sneezed snowflakes, and said parents were told by the elders that Crystal breathed ice, the draclings were told that ice-breathing dragons weren't to be trusted; especially ones that were supposed to breathe fire. So they were told that Crystal was different, and that it was bad.

They ignored her, and some even began picking on her, calling her names.

Crystal couldn't understand it. She didn't know why it was so bad that she was different. She didn't choose to have ice breath. But no one seemed to understand that.

Her mother seemed to be the only one who didn't turn their back on her. Even her father was disappointed in her after accidentally revealing her secret. "I didn't mean to sneeze." Crystal said.

Early one morning, Crystal stepped out of the cave she and her parents slept in, and sat down, staring at the rising sun. She was over a year old, and had doubled in size, growing to the size of her father's head. And, in Terran terms, that was the size of a large dog.

She had begun learning to fly, and could just barely reach the height of the cave entrance. This made her a fast learner at flying, which was something she could at least be proud of. She also knew how to use her ice breath, but since everyone seemed to hate this, she rarely used it except in private.

She sighed heavily, feeling like the loneliest being in the galaxy. She licked a healing wound on her left side under her wing. She had sometimes gotten injured when the other draclings picked on her. She didn't fight back, but instead tried to escape and hide. While Indira was angry at the other draclings for hurting her daughter, Sarosh tried not to notice.

"Crystal?"

She looked back to see her mother. "…Morning." She nodded.

"Are you all right?"

"I guess." Crystal shrugged. "Mother? Why am I so different?"

Indira glanced down, almost looking ashamed. "I don't know, dear."

"Why do I breathe ice? Why can't I breathe fire like everyone else?"

"I honestly don't know. It might be because you were born during the cold months."

"I wish I was born during the warm months. I wish I wasn't born at all." She said bitterly.

"Don't say that! You shouldn't ever wish that." Indira nuzzled her young daughter. "Everyone's born for a reason, even if not in desirable times. You shouldn't wish you didn't have the greatest gift of all: life."

"If everyone's born for a reason, why was I?"

Before she could answer, Sarosh stepped out. "We should probably alert Adalwolf that we're ready to go. It's a few days long of a journey."

Nodding, Indira stood up, nudged Crystal to her feet, and followed him to where the elder Ignis lived. Along the way, other fire dragons glared or turned their noses up at Crystal. She had become known as quite the outcast of the clan. For as long as anyone could remember, Ignises and Glaciems hated each other, wanting nothing to do with each other ever. Even Adalwolf said this trip to see them would be dangerous.

And now, since one of their own had the icy breath of their enemies, she was considered an outcast, a misfit, bad luck, a bad omen; anything bad they could think of.

Crystal tried to ignore the glares the adults were sending her. She simply stared forward, following her parents.

Soon, they reached Adalwolf's home. He was sitting outside of his cave with his mate, Quirina, talking about the trip. "Are we ready?" He asked upon seeing Sarosh and Indira.

"We are." He nodded.

"Are we flying?" Crystal asked. "'Cause I can't fly for long."

"We're flying." Adalwolf said to Sarosh, as if ignoring Crystal's question. "It takes a few days to get to where the Glaciems live, but if we fly, we may be able to cut the trip's length in half."

"How'm I gonna keep up?" Crystal asked. "I can't fly very good."

"'Very well.'" Indira corrected. "And I'll carry you." She laid her neck on the ground and nudged her daughter onto her back.

"Let's go." Adalwolf took off into the sky, followed by Sarosh.

Indira crouched down, and leapt into the air, pumping her large leathery wings. Crystal gripped one of her red back spikes, looking down in awe. _Will I be able to fly like this someday? I can't wait!_

* * *

As Adalwolf said, the trip took only three days, plus one of walking when the dragons' wings got tired. But they landed on the ground on the fourth day. "Dragons never fly into other dragons' territory. That's considered disrespectful." Indira explained to Crystal. "Even between Ignises and Glaciems."

"Why do we hate Glaciems so much?" Crystal asked innocently. "And why do they hate us?"

"It's been like that for so long, no one knows why. But everyone has their theories. Most dragons think that it's because ice and fire are such vastly different elements that while balancing each other, they also fight against each other."

When they were walking, there was grass, and the weather was neither hot nor cold; somewhere in between. But in time, the weather became colder, and the four dragons soon found snow. Crystal hadn't had enough time to experience snow after she was born, but now she was experiencing it fully. And if she was totally honest, she loved it. She leapt into the snow, kicking it up and rolling in it, laughing all the way.

"Crystal, enough." Sarosh said sternly. "We're here on important business, perhaps dangerous. Not here to play in this disgusting cold."

"Let her play." Indira frowned. "She isn't doing anything wrong. She isn't hurting anyone."

Crystal heard her father tell her to stop, but she also heard her mother defend her. So, she kept playing. But when Adalwolf said they were approaching Glaciem territory, even Indira told Crystal to stop.

The Glaciem's territory was in snowy mountains. Even through the falling snow, Crystal could see cave entrances in the mountains, and blue and gray dragons walking around.

One patrolling Glaciem briefly spoke with Adalwolf, and left to fetch their elder. The three Ignises sat in the snow, shivering slightly. Crystal sat down as well, though she was fidgeting merely from impatience.

After a long while, three Glaciems stepped up through the falling snow. They were light-blue and gray with fingered wings, icy-blue stripes, eyes, and icicle-like back spines.

"I am Euthymios," The eldest male said. "This is my mate, Metrodora, and my son, Gaspar. State your business, Ignis."

"I am Adalwolf. This is Sarosh, Indira, and their daughter, Crystal. This dracling," He picked her up by the tail and tossed her into the snow in front of Euthymios. "Was born an Ignis, but has a different breath. Show them."

Gulping nervously, Crystal blew, creating a small, long, sharp piece of ice out of midair. The three Glaciems blinked in surprise, jaws dropping. "…I see." Euthymios suddenly glared at Adalwolf. "Are you implying that she is part Glaciem?"

"Certainly not!" The Ignis elder growled. "She only has this cursed ice breath because she hatched during the cold months."

"So, what are we supposed to do about this?" Metrodora asked. "You obviously came here for a reason regarding this dracling."

"We brought her here to give her to you." Adalwolf said. "She obviously belongs here, having ice breath. And she enjoys the cold. She was playing in the snow along the way here."

"You think just because she breathes ice she belongs with Glaciems?!" Euthymios snapped. "She is still an Ignis at birth. She's not even an adolescent yet. She looks like a yearling, yes? So she still needs to be with her mother. Besides, I assume she isn't getting along with the other draclings back at home?"

"They're picking on me." Crystal said, attracting the Glaceims' attention. "My friends don't like me. And I think Father's disappointed in me."

"You see? She doesn't fit in at home." The elder Glaciem nodded. "What makes you think it will be any different with us?"

"You're just dropping her on us to get her out of your scales." Metrodora scowled like a mother scolding her dracling. "Before she is even old enough to leave her mother. Shame on you."

"At any rate, you've wasted a journey here, and our time." Euthymios turned away and walked back into the falling snow, followed by Metrodora, who gave the Ignises one last glare.

"Well, that was a lot of time wasted." Sarosh growled, storming away, churning up the snow.

Rolling his eyes, Adalwolf followed him, saying, "Come along, Indira and Crystal. We're going back home."

Indira began following him, looking relieved. Crystal made to go after her mother, but paused when the remaining Glaciem called her back. She looked over her shoulder. "You're…um, you're Gaspar, right?"

"Indeed." He nodded. "You said the other draclings are picking on you? Is that how you got those injuries?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded.

"Here's a bit of advice: fight back. Fight back tooth and nail. Scar _them_ if needed. Let them know how it feels to be hurt. And when you're an adult, if they're still hard on you, just leave. Find your own purpose on Drakonehm; maybe the whole galaxy, even."

She nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable. She turned and ran up to her mother, who had paused, watching her and Gaspar talk.

All the way home. Crystal thought back to what Gaspar said. _Fight back…he's right. Why shouldn't I be able to fight back?_

* * *

**A/N As I said earlier, I actually have several chapters written in advance. I'm only uploading one everyday simply because I don't want to upload all of the written-in-advance ones in one chunk. And I wrote the ones in advance because since this fanfic started out not in the GotG universe, I want to get to "familiar territory" as quickly as possible, and I don't want several days of wait between chapters. Once the setting starts to look more like GotG (maybe when Rocket and Groot come into the picture) I won't upload this as frequently.**

**If you guys are curious to know what the different dragon species, as well as adult Crystal, look like, just go to my DeviantART accoutn (link is in my profile on here) go to my gallery, and click the "Guardians of the Galaxy" folder. They're merely made on a flash "create-a-dragon" game, but it DOES show what they look like. It also has a pic of Crystal in her different form (not so much of a spoiler, since that pic's been on DA for months) but that needs to be updated sometime...**

**Like before, the names of the Ignis and Glaciem dragons named here were randomly chosen on Behind the Name. I'm sometimes not good at naming characters, especially minor/very minor ones, so I tend to use name randomizers to do the work. Lazy, I know, but if a character's only gonna be in the story for one or two chapters, it doesn't bother me.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**The Rainbow Devowerer: Thanks :D**

**Guest: Thanks :) I can't wait either.**

* * *

Life continued to be hard for Crystal. As she grew up, she continued to be bullied by her peers. But something changed: she fought back. The first time a dracling picked on her, and attacked, she scratched and bit back, even using her ice breath. But she was punished for it. "He started it!" She protested. "Was I supposed to let him beat me up?"

"You didn't need to draw blood." Sarosh said.

"But they did for me!"

"Next time, just ignore it."

But there were times when ignoring the bullies wasn't enough. Whenever they saw Crystal wasn't affected, they would push her around and began to get physical. At that point, she needed to fight back. She began ignoring it when her father or other Ignises scolded her for it.

She had also begun teaching herself to use her tail—which was unusually long—to secretly trip the dragons that were picking on her. They never realized it was her, and she always laughed about it.

When she was a few years old, the Ignis who had bullied her, only for Crystal to fight back for the first time, told his uncle that he never hurt Crystal and that she was the one who hurt him for no reason. His uncle was a huge, muscular dragon, who held his nephew on a high pedestal, and so was very angry that not only another dragon hurt him, but it was the very dragon that was born an Ignis, but breathed ice. When he saw her outside, he attacked.

It was one thing to be attacked by another dragon her own age and size. But it was another for an adult to do so. Especially one that was much bigger than adults themselves. So she did the first thing that came to mind: run.

The big dragon actually chased her around the entire volcano the clan lived nearby. There were times when Crystal felt his hot breath on her heels, and felt his teeth when he tried to grab her tail in his mouth. Even when she took off into the skies he followed her. She was finally able to escape by hiding in a small cave that even she was barely able to squeeze into. But she was able to squirm backwards far enough so he couldn't reach her.

After about an hour of trying to grab her, he left with a growl. It was another hour before Indira found her daughter still shaking in the cave. After hearing her story, the older Ignis gave the uncle dragon, who was almost twice her size, a yelling that made even him flinch. Even though he knew his nephew lied about her hurting him first, he didn't apologize.

Crystal didn't care. She didn't want to see him again, he scared her so much. She made an effort to avoid him whenever she was outside and saw him.

But something happened that diverted Crystal's attention: she became a big sister.

Sarosh and Indira were careful to have their clutch be laid during the summertime. As a result, their single egg hatched into a healthy Ignis named Topaz.

Sarosh originally didn't want Crystal to see her new sister. But Indira growled him into submission. "She is her sister. She has a right to meet her. She won't hurt her, you stubborn dragon. What's happened to you?"

Sarosh didn't tell her why he was so antagonistic against his own elder daughter. But he did let her meet Topaz.

Crystal was eager that she had a sister who could potentially become her only friend. "I won't let anyone bully you, Topaz." She promised as she laid down, her arms curled up in a sort of nest that her baby sister laid in.

But life wasn't quite that way afterwards. In fact, for Crystal, a fire dragon that indeed breathed ice, it worsened.

* * *

Soon, Crystal was a fully-fledged adult. She had a few scars that consisted of three claw-marks; one on her left side under her wing, one on her right thigh, and one on one side of her long tail. She was quite lovely, though the male Ignises her age never admitted it. They didn't want to acknowledge her as an Ignis even.

Crystal was still hurt by the prejudice—not to mention she was still mentally scarred by the bigger dragon chasing her—but she tried to ignore it. She also remembered what Gaspar, the Glaciem, had told her: if life was still hard on her in her clan as an adult, she could just leave.

Her sister, Topaz, was as lovely an Ignis as she was, though was a few years younger. And all of the males acknowledged that. She loved her older sister, but was embarrassed to be seen with her in public. One day, she actually told her that she didn't want to be seen next to her. "If we're walking outside the caves, could you at least keep a dragon's distance away from me?"

"Why?" Crystal asked in shock. "Are you ashamed of me?"

"I just…I like some of the males, but they won't go near me if you're with me."

"Oh, I see how it is." Crystal said bitterly. "You're only concerned with your own selfish needs. And I'm in the way. Well, I apologize for being who I am, even though I had no choice in the matter." She left her sister with an angry growl, ignoring Topaz's protests.

Later that evening, as Crystal sat outside the caves deep in thought, Sarosh approached her with a frown. "Crystal? I want to talk to you in private."

"Why not here? I'm sure what you have to say to me doesn't need to be kept in private." She said, not looking at him.

"…Fine. Your sister asked you to leave her alone—"

"No she didn't. She just didn't want to be seen close to me by the males."

"I think you should do one better and leave her alone."

"Why do you hate me so much?!" Crystal suddenly snapped, spinning around to face her father. "What did I do wrong?!"

"Wrong?! What did you do wrong?! You were born with ice breath—"

"It wasn't my fault! I didn't choose this! If I had a choice in what breath I had, I would have chosen fire—"

"But you didn't. As far as I'm concerned, you can leave this clan if you want, and never return. As far as I'm concerned…you're no daughter of mine."

Crystal gasped in shock, feeling tears begin to sting her eyes. She looked around; realizing all of the shouting had attracted a crowd. And now, all of the Ignises, save for Indira and Topaz, were chanting and agreeing with Sarosh that Crystal should leave and never return.

She looked at her family, silently begging for help. Sarosh looked down his nose at her with disdain. Topaz held her head down, looking ashamed and embarrassed. Indira looked at her older daughter in sorrow, but didn't make a move to help her.

All of the bullying, hurt, ignorance, and antagonistic feelings from her own father had bottled up over the years of Crystal's life. And now, on this evening, it exploded.

* * *

**A/N Nothing much about this chapter. Mostly filler, with little events relating to Crystal's personality development.**

**While Sarosh was right in that Crystal didn't need to make the other draclings bleed, she still needed to defend herself, in my opinion.**

**Her using her tail to trip people without them knowing was half of a trait added late. Since she's gonna be a thief when she meets Rocket and Groot, it'd be cool if she could use her tail to sneak things away from people. She'll also be able to use her hands, but her tail tends to work better, in my opinion, because her tail would be more secretive than her hands.**

**When I was creating Crystal, I thought it'd be interesting for her to be afraid of one of the Galaxy Guardians (a shorter name for the Guardians of the Galaxy) I chose Drax because he can be a bit scary-looking, and there's also the part of his story where he goes on a rampage after his family was killed. So, in order to justify Crys being afraid of Drax, I figured she wouldn't so much be afraid of HIM, but of large muscular men. Sounds a bit weird, I know XD But I think it could happen.**

**Crystal having a sister was also kind of a late addition to her character. Since she has the name of a gem-like object (fun fact: I looked up "Crystal" on Behind the Name, and it's derived from the Greek word for "Ice." I swear, I didn't know this before naming her XD) I picked Topaz for her sister, which was in the "fire/hot names" on 20000 Names from Around the World.**

**What do you think it means when it says that the bad feelings bottled up inside Crystal exploded?**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**random gal: Yeah, I guess so.**

**No, he probably wouldn't XD Thing is, in her true form (when she looks like a regular dragon) she's huge; in her anthro form (you'll see soon) she's a tad over six feet tall, and apparently, the guy who played Drax is six foot six. So, she's just a bit shorter than him. That's why, to an outsider who doesn't know Crys, they'd think it odd that she'd be scared of him at first.**

**I just laughed at your first guess XD That IS a very literal guess XD But the second one is much closer.**

* * *

Furrowing her eyebrows deeply, and baring her teeth, Crystal stretched her neck up high, threw her head back, and let out a loud, angry roar. Everyone jumped in surprise. Crystal had never been this angry in all of the time everyone knew her.

"Why must I be thought of as a monster?!" She growled deeply in her throat, sounding like a different dragon. "Only because I breathe ice instead of fire?! You _all_ are the monsters! Not me!" She took a deep breath and let loose a large ice beam, freezing one of the caves and dragons.

Chaos broke loose. Ignises ran from the mad dragon, screaming in fright. A few dragons took off to the skies. Some young males escorted Topaz away as she looked back in terror at the horror her sister was causing.

Crystal stormed around the territory, freezing everything that moved and didn't move in her rage. Her pupils had shrunken, creating the illusion that her eyes were completely icy-blue. There was nothing stopping her unleashed anger.

Dragons were frozen where they stood, and the rock caves were covered in ice. Even though they lived near a volcano, the ice stayed frozen. And she continued to roar as she froze her enemies.

Soon, only Sarosh and Indira were left. Everyone else had either fled or was frozen where they stood.

"Crystal, enough of this!" Sarosh snapped, standing in front of Indira. "I demand you stop, young lady!"

Crystal slowly approached them, growling deep in her throat. "Crystal! Listen to your fath—"

She suddenly grabbed his throat in her claws. "You. Aren't. My father. You said so yourself. I'm no daughter of yours."

He attacked her, roaring. Indira gasped as she saw her mate and daughter fight, drawing blood.

Crystal was kicked to the ground with a thump. She had several injuries, though the worse of them were three slashes across her left cheek under her eye.

Growling, Crystal let loose another large beam of ice, directed at her father, freezing him instantly. She also caught the lower half of Indira's body. She screamed in pain, startling Crystal out of her rage, and fell unconscious.

She blinked, panting as if she had ran halfway around the world and back. She looked around, eyes widening in horror at what happened. She hadn't realized what her unleashed anger and rage had caused until too late.

"No…what have…what have I done?!" She exclaimed as tears began to run down her eyes. "M-M-Mama! P-Papa! What have I done?!" She turned and took off to the sky, sobbing heavily in guilt and sadness.

* * *

She had finally landed on a faraway mountain about half an hour later. She laid among the rocks, with her face buried in her arms, sobbing in regret, guilt, and sadness. She hadn't meant to attack so viciously. Something feral had snapped deep inside of her, broken by all of the hatred directed towards her. Her mother hadn't even helped her. She just sat there. Even her sister had turned against her.

Crystal felt like nothing in her life had gone right. Gaspar was right about one thing at least: she should have left while she could. If she had, especially before her father said those hurtful things, everything that had happened that evening wouldn't have happened.

"What should I do?" She sniffed. "I killed almost my whole clan. If anyone survived, they'll kill me if they find me, no questions asked."

Whenever Crystal was deep in thought, whenever angry or sad, her mind would wander to happier times. One of which was when Sarosh told her about the Usekh of Humanus, an ancient artifact of Drakonehm. He told her it was something to be worn around the neck, and had large purple diamonds infused with magic. When any dragon wore it, the magic caused said dragon to shrink and turn into one resembling Terrans or Terran-like aliens. They stood on their hind legs, used their arms primarily, and their snouts and mouths became shorter and smaller.

But it came with a heavy price: their true forms were constrained as a result of the magic, and whenever the usekh was removed, they returned to their true forms in an untamable rage, causing them to attack anything that moved. Crystal now thought of it being similar to what had happened to her earlier that night.

"I don't want that to happen ever again." She muttered to herself, scratching the ground with the claws on one front paw. "If the Usekh of Humanus can constrain my true form, I want it. So no one could get hurt again. Once I get the usekh…I'm going to find a way to get off of this planet. If anyone survived me, they'll surely warn other dragons about me, even Glaciems and Venenums." She wasn't sure how she would get off of Drakonehm, or where she would go. _But one step at a time,_ she thought. _I have bigger things to wonder: where is the Usekh of Humanus?_

She then recalled that Sarosh told her it was in the largest mountain of Drakonehm, which was on the equator of Drakonehm: Mt. Antiqua. It was easily identified as a huge mountain that was colored red, green, and blue. It was guarded by Ignises, Glaciems, and Venenums; one of its treasures was the usekh.

"At least it'll be easily identified." She thought. "Getting in might be a challenge though." Shrugging, she stood up and took off.

Ever since she had left home, and cooled down, Crystal had never felt freer. She could do whatever she wanted, including use her ice breath. And use it she did. Even though she used it to hurt her clan, it gave her such relief to finally use it as much as she wanted. She blew ice beams into the air, and spun around in the air as the small crystals fell through the sky.

After a while of "dancing" in the sky, Crystal turned herself around to fly off and find Mt. Antiqua. All she knew was that though it was easily spotted, it was also far away from her former home.

* * *

It took a few days, but she eventually found Mt. Antiqua. It was as Sarosh told her: a huge mountain, colored with patches of red, blue, and green, the colors of the dragons of Drakonehm. Two Venenums guarded the entrance. She was sure there would be more dragons inside.

Humming in thought, Crystal decided to charge right in and blast with her ice breath. But she had to remember to not kill anyone; just perhaps freeze their feet to the ground. "At least in the end, the Ignises will be able to free themselves." She mused. "Besides, I'm an Ignis that breathes ice. They'll be so surprised, I'll have a head start."

Taking a few deep breaths, she took off like a rocket.

The two Venenums blinked in surprise at the Ignis flying towards Mt. Antiqua. She landed square on her feet in front of them, glaring and growling. Then, she charged, knocking them aside. They shook their heads in surprise. No dragon had ever broken into the mountain, so this Ignis female had caught them by surprise. But they stood where they were to guard the entrance. There were other dragons inside that could easily overtake her. All they needed to do was make sure she didn't escape.

Crystal wasn't hit by other guards until she went deeper into the cave, climbing up at certain points. They stared at her in confusion. Smirking, she let loose her ice breath, freezing the Ignises and Glaciems and Venenums where they stood. At first, everyone was too shocked at the idea of an Ignis breathing ice to fight back. But once they shook themselves from their stupor, they attacked.

Crystal jumped and flew back to avoid the fire, ice, and poisonous gas, retaliating by slamming them aside with her tail and freezing them to the walls, making sure to at least not freeze their heads. She flew deeper into the mountain, landing to breathe ice on the ground, causing it to become icy like a frozen-over lake. She ran to it, and flopped onto her belly, sliding along from the momentum and knocking over startled dragons.

After what felt like several hours of searching, Crystal finally found her target. Inside the highest point of the mountain—she wondered if it was the peak—where it was quite cold, was a large flat rock, with thin ice walls manipulated to resemble a box. Inside, propped up by two tall and thin stones, was a large, wide collar-like necklace made up of several flat pieces of gold strung in a row. Five of the pieces of gold each had a large purple diamond in the middle.

This was the Usekh of Humanus.

Crystal stared down at it, spying her reflection out of the corner of her eye. In all honesty, she could hardly believe she made it. It seemed like only a silly thought that she was able to achieve her goal of finding the Usekh of Humanus.

And yet, here she was, in front of one of the greatest treasures of Drakonehm.

She had a brief moment where she had a thought: was this the right thing to do? To conceal her true form, and become something she wasn't?

"No." She shook her head. "I'll still be me, just with a differently-shaped body. I'll learn to adapt. I'll never become who I was that day. I'm never going back! What's past is in the past!" She swung her tail at the ice, causing it to shatter into hundreds of pieces. She moved behind the rock, and nudged her head through the usekh. It slid down to rest on her shoulders and her chest.

* * *

**A/N Those who said Crystal would explode in the metaphorical form, you were right. She might be a sweet, misfit girl most of the time, but when she gets angry, she gets scary (kinda rhymes XD) I kinda imagine her roar to be a mix of Godzilla's and the Jurassic Park T-Rex.**

**An usekh is a wide necklace, like the kind Egyptian busts wear; humanus is Latin for "human." It was kinda hard describing what Crystal would resemble when wearing it without saying "human," since humans are called Terrans, and there are aliens that resemble Terrans. Also, I swear I wasn't thinking of the Hulk when I decided when the usekh was removed, Crys would turn into her true form in berserk mode.**

**Antiqua is just Latin for "ancient," making the mountain called Mt. Ancient. There are other treasures than just the Usekh of Humanus, they're just not important to the story (plus, I don't know what other kinds of treasure there would be, aside from piles of gold and jewels) Speaking of the usekh, the pic showing Crys in her anthro form on my DA account also has her wearing the usekh, if anyone's curious about what it looks like.**

**I'm on a roll with the cliffhangers aren't I?**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**random gal: Thanks :D**

**You're right in that I need practice with action-y scenes. Battle/war scenes ARE ones that I seem to have trouble with writing, I'll admit. Plus, I took a month-long break, so I'm kinda rusty with writing. But for some reasons, when it comes to writing battle/war scenes, I'm just not good at it.**

**That's fine :) Everyone has their own opinion (I sometimes feel like a broken record saying that) It just might be the blue with the orange. Now that I think about it, comparing Crystal with "true" Ignises, the red DOES look better than the blue. I guess I need to learn about color coordination :3**

* * *

Almost as soon as the usekh rested on her fur, Crystal felt its effect. She fell over, roaring in pain. Her bones felt like they were being broken and squeezed together, and rearranged. It was so unbearable, she was sure she was dying.

What she didn't see were her whole body shrinking, and her limbs being. The usekh was shrinking as well to fit better around her smaller frame.

After what felt like hours, the pain finally faded away. Crystal uncurled herself, panting in exhaustion. "Did…did it work? I don't feel any d—!" She gasped when she saw her front paws. The fingers had rearranged themselves so she only had three fingers on the tops of each hand, and her other finger turned into opposable thumbs on each hand. Her arms weren't as muscular, and her shoulders had broadened and were more round. Her feet hadn't changed, save for shrinking, though she could still stand on her toes. Her legs weren't as muscular either, though were just enough to support her body.

Crystal froze a stone wall, and looked at the ice, eyes widening further at the sight of her reflection.

She had done more than shrink. Her neck wasn't as long as it used to be, her snout had shortened, and the corners of her mouth weren't as far up her face as they were before. Her body was slightly tapered at the waist, and her hips had widened slightly. Her wings were smaller, and her tail wasn't quite as long—though it was still considerably long for her new size, which was much smaller than her true form.

Some things hadn't changed though: she still had her orange and icy-blue coloring and her scars. The still-healing scratches across her cheek and snout were still there; speaking of her eyes, they were now white with icy-blue irises around her round black pupils. The usekh sat comfortably on her chest. Her chest, belly, and the underside of her tail still had thick fur.

Crystal lightly patted her face and chest, still in awe at how different she looked. She vaguely knew what she would look like before she got to the mountain, but this still came as a shock.

She clenched her fists, slowly smiling. She had achieved her goal. "I'm no longer the monster that destroyed my home and family…she's gone! That girl is gone!"

Taking a deep breath, she stood up on her hind legs. She wobbled on shaky legs, waving her arms around to keep her balance. She took a shaky step, feeling like a newborn learning to walk again. Only this time, she could only use two legs to support her whole body.

After a long time, Crystal felt she was able to walk a few feet without stumbling like a newborn dragon. She began walking back the way she came, holding her head up high. Even though she felt a bit of guilt for stealing a priceless treasure, she also felt prideful that she was able to accomplish something big.

The dragons were just able to get themselves free from the ice. The Ignises freed themselves fine, but refused to free the Glaciems. The Venenums were freed, and they helped free the Glaciems by biting and scratching at the ice. The Venenums weren't involved in the Ice vs. Fire War, as the eternal fight between the Ignises and Glaciems was called.

Everyone froze in surprise as Crystal walked in. She wasn't the rogue Ignis dragon, who breathed ice, who flew in causing such trouble and chaos. She was now in anthro-form.

She had stolen the Usekh of Humanus.

One Ignis leapt at her. She jumped up, flapping her smaller wings. They kept her in the air, though she did need to flap them harder. She dodged the dragons, though she did feel their teeth on her feet and tail, and flew out of Mt. Antiqua.

The two Venenums who were guarding the entrance were startled by the now-smaller Ignis flying towards them. They breathed green poisonous gas at her, trying to stop her from escaping.

Crystal held her breath, straightened her body out so she resembled a missile, and flapped her wings as fast as she could. She flew quickly out of the mountain, never looking back.

As soon as she felt she was far enough away, and her wings were beginning to tire, she landed, panting slightly. Her heart was still racing, and her mind kept replaying the recent events over and over.

She fingered the large, hard stones set into the golden, plated usekh around her neck. "…I still can't believe I actually did it." She whispered, sitting on her haunches. Despite having a differently-shaped body, she still had a bit of her true dragon instincts.

"…Now what am I going to do?"

* * *

It took several weeks for Crystal to fully learn to walk on her hind legs, and use her front paws as hands. She still often ran on four legs, but her new ways of walking and using her hands soon became like second instinct.

Walking on her hinds legs wasn't very difficult. It was learning to use her hands, and not primarily her mouth, that was the trickiest. It took a while for her to be used to her new fingers alone. She was able to get the most practice when she ate. She still hunted like a dragon, but she taught herself to eat with her hands, holding the prey with her hands.

Crystal only knew about aliens that walked on their hind legs and used their hands as utensils because Sarosh told her about them.

"_They'll sometimes come to Drakonehm in large objects, which I believe have many names: spaceships, aircrafts or M-ships." He said. "But no matter the name, they tend to be bigger than us dragons, and different species of aliens ride in them and control them. Though there are different species, they all share common traits: front-set eyes, walking on their hind legs, using their front paws as utensils, and wearing furless-skin on themselves."_

"_Why do they come here?" Crystal had asked. "And why haven't I seen them?"_

"_They don't come very often anymore. And as to why they come here, no one knows. But they often take our prey, our plants; some even try to take us, though they very seldom succeed."_

Crystal wondered if she would ever see these two-legged aliens herself. But if she did, what would they do to her? Sarosh told her they sometimes tried to take dragons, though they almost never succeeded.

But sometimes, even very rare occurrences could indeed happen.

* * *

A large aircraft landed on Drakonehm months later. Drakonehm wasn't famous merely for being inhabited mostly by dragons; they had other exotic animals, including six-legged deer and wild cattle, fish with six side fins and two tails, and large rabbits with only two hind legs. And there were plants only found on Drakonehm, which could be used as food, medicine, or drugs.

But dragons were still the most famous element of the planet. Two forms of aliens came to do something with the dragons: sightseers, only wanting to watch, and perhaps study, the dragons in their natural habitat, and poachers, capturing dragons illegally whether to kill for food or material gain, or capture to own as pets or sell to zoos or circuses.

A group of poachers had landed on Drakonehm looking for dragons. They were yellow-skinned, bald, had round eyes, broad noses, wide, thin mouths, and webbed feet and hands. They wore patchy hunter clothes, gloves designed for webbed fingered-hands, and brown boots. Their weapons were guns, bows and arrows, and rope that almost nothing could rip.

These greedy aliens were called Vruttoms.

The group of ten scouted the landscape, looking around for dragons. They didn't know what kind they would come up against. But no matter what kind, they all agreed to do the same thing first: tie the mouth shut. The mouth was where the dragon's main weapon was, no matter if they breathed fire, ice, or poison gas.

After several minutes of looking, they stopped under a tree to take a break. The leader had asked his companions to keep an eye on any dragons walking by.

One had left to take a walk, but he ran back, gasping. "What?" The leader asked.

"Dragon! I saw a dragon!"

"What kind?"

"An Ignis…but it's strange-looking."

"What do you mean?" The leader stood up and grabbed his rope and gun.

"Come and see. It was hunting, and should be landing soon."

All nine of the Vruttoms followed him and hid behind several large rocks. They saw a small, humanoid-looking Ignis dragon. What was even stranger was she had icy-blue stripes and eyes, and her belly was furry instead of plated. She was also wearing a wide necklace with large purple diamonds. She was flying down to the ground with a large two-legged rabbit in her arms.

She sat on the ground, folding her leathery wings. Holding down the dead rabbit with one foot, she pulled it apart, held one leg in her front paws, and tore the meat from the bones hungrily.

"I've never seen a dragon that small." One Vruttom remarked.

"I thought you said it was an Ignis." The leader said to the Vruttom who told them about the dragon.

"I did," He said. "She's orange with leathery wings, isn't she?"

"But look at her stripes and eyes," Another Vruttom pointed out. "And what's that around her neck?"

"It looks like a necklace. Could be worth a lot of money."

"What will we do with the dragon? She might be upset that we'll take her necklace. Everyone knows dragons are extremely greedy when it comes to their treasure."

"We'll worry about that later. She's not as big as normal dragons. So, it'll be easier to subdue her." The leader said. "We'll capture her alive, and see what to do with her." He made a noose with his rope, and threw it her way.

* * *

Crystal gulped down the two-legged rabbit, sighing with satisfaction. She had been enjoying life on her own for the past several months. She could do whatever she wanted—including improving on her ice breath—hunt and eat whatever she wanted, and fly anywhere she wanted.

It was every dracling's dream.

But she wasn't a dracling anymore. She was older and wiser, and was also quite lonely. She missed her family, even though her father basically disowned her, her sister was ashamed of her, and her mother didn't help her as much as Crystal thought she should have.

She still had nightmares of what happened that day, when she laid massacre on her clan, murdering her family. She didn't know how many survived, or if anyone survived. She had been so deep into her rage that everything seemed a blur of orange and white.

There were nights when she would lay curled up in her sleep, late at night, moaning and crying in her recurring nightmares. They were nightmares of blasting dragons with ice, and were filled with the screams of her parents.

Crystal shook her head, shivering from the memories. "That's in the past." She muttered. "Don't think about it. It's over and done with."

As she ducked her head to grab another mouthful of meat, something went whizzing by, barely grazing her ears. Her head shot up, looking to her right. It was a thick, dark-silvery rope knotted into a noose. It was on the ground, draping over her neck.

She looked to her left, spying strange yellow aliens. Her ears perked up in surprise. _Front-set eyes, walking on hind legs, using their front paws as utensils, wearing furless-skin; they must have aircrafts, or space ships, or whatever they're called…and they're trying to capture me!_

She quickly shook the rope off and took off into the sky. Then, an arrow flew through her wing, startling her and causing her to fall to the ground.

The yellow aliens surrounded her, aiming their guns and arrows at her. Crystal stood up, growling. Her wing had been injured, and was bleeding, so she wasn't sure if she could take off. She was going to have to fight her way out of this.

She swiped some down with her tail, roaring, and then froze a few others with her ice breath.

"I thought you said she was an Ignis!" The leader snarled.

"I did! I didn't know she could breathe ice!"

Crystal fought as hard as she could, but despite her strength, wits, and ice breath, she was vastly outnumbered. Ropes were thrown, grabbing her arms and legs. One alien clamped her mouth shut with one hand, and pulled off her usekh with the other, much to her horror.

"No!" She screamed, surprising the aliens. But it was too late.

* * *

**A/N I think this is one of this story's longer chapters.**

**I don't know about any of you, but I think if someone was shrunken down and rearranged (for this example, a four-legged dragon is shrunken, and rearranged so it's kinda anthro-looking) there'd be a lot of pain, especially in the bones. Plus, when looking at the Hulk (who, again, wasn't part of Crystal's inspiration, just a coincidence) when Bruce Banner transforms into the Hulk, he looks like he's in pain, though I'm not sure if his bones expand, or just his muscles. I didn't see the 2008 Hulk movie, just _Thor_ and _Avengers_.**

**As I stated before (and forgot to say in the last chapter) I'm not very good at writing "action-y" scenes, mostly battle and war scenes. I do try my best, though I've gotten a tad bit lazy after taking a month-long break. I guess, all in all, I can imagine this great battle scene in my head, but can't really put it on paper...text, rather. So, hopefully my boring battle scenes don't put a huge damper on the story.**

**I came up with the yellow alien species name by going to an alien species name generator, which displays ten different alien species names randomly, and just chose one of them. Another thing I have trouble with is choosing names for characters/creatures, and creating alien species, for that matter. Kinda ironic in that I can create OCs that a lot of people seem to like, but I have trouble making a simple alien race :X Also, the prey on Drakonehm is just me taking random prey animals and making them unusual.**

**I had also wrote most of these chapters in one night, so I think I was also tired when I wrote them.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

* * *

The first thing she felt was pain. It was similar to the pain that shrunk and rearranged her body months before. Now it was not only rearranging her body again, but stretching everything as well. And it was just as painful.

But there was something else. Something Crystal couldn't quite decipher. As she hunched on the ground, crying out in pain, she became aware that her self-control was being slowly taken over by something bigger. It was as if something, or someone, had hypnotized her, and was starting to try and manipulate her. She tried to fight it, but wasn't strong enough.

All she could do was watch.

As soon as she was in her huge true form, Crystal glared at the Vruttoms with eyes that seemed to be purely icy-blue orbs, baring her sharp teeth. She threw her head back with a mighty roar, and reared up on her hind legs, causing the Vruttoms holding the ropes attached to her front legs to fly into the air, screaming and clinging to the ropes. She swiped her tail around, roaring and chasing the eight Vruttoms that were still unfrozen from her previous fight. She fired her icy breath, freezing two more of the yellow aliens.

This went on for several minutes, and she still didn't calm down. "Put her necklace back on!" The Vruttom leader yelled.

"What?! Why?" The Vruttom asked, clutching the usekh to his chest.

"Did you not see what happened?! She is out of control, unless that necklace is around her neck!"

"How will we put it on though? She won't stop moving for anything!"

The leader grabbed the rope Crystal shook off previously, and managed to lasso her mouth, clamping it shut. Two other Vruttom helped pulled rope down, keeping Crystal's head down, and trying to keep her from moving around so much.

The Vruttom grabbed the end of the rope, and strung it through the usekh. The three other Vruttoms let it slide past their hands, and another slid it down the rope and around her neck.

* * *

While she raged about, attacking the yellow aliens with ice, tooth, and nail, Crystal tried her best to fight against her rage. It was as if her brain had been overtaken by a rage-inducing virus, and she was still critically ill.

Then, through the fuzziness and anger, she felt something cool and heavy settle around her neck and on her shoulders. _Thank the dragons above, my usekh!_

The pain came again, this time shrinking her body down to its previous size. And she felt the overpowering rage begin to reside, clearing her mind. But with the pain and rage leaving her, there also came exhaustion, both from pain and raging. As her body slowed down its shrinking, she laid on the ground, panting heavily.

The Vruttoms stood where they were, keeping a hold of the ropes that held Crystal's arms, legs, and mouth. "…I think we can all agree to keep that necklace on her." The leader said breathlessly.

The five Vruttoms, who weren't frozen, nodded in agreement. The two aliens that helped their leader hold Crystal's mouth, and the one that wasn't holding one of her limbs, grabbed some large rocks, and began chipping the ice away, trying to save their four companions. Luckily, they were in the warmer parts of Drakonehm, and the ice was already beginning to melt.

"What should we do with her?" One Vruttom holding Crystal's leg asked. "Kill her?"

"Certainly not!" The leader shook his head, surprising the others. "She seems to be a rare sort of dragon: an Ignis who breathes ice."

"Fire dragons don't breathe ice," Another Vruttom pointed out. "Not normally, anyway."

"That's what makes her so rare. And she should make us a lot of money…all we need is to find the right buyer…and I think I have an idea." The Vruttom tapped his wide chin, and his thin lips curled into a smirk. "Let's tie her up and get her to the aircraft. I'll need to make a call."

* * *

Crystal was very confused, angry, and scared when she woke up. Her arms were tied together and against her chest, her legs and tail were tied together, her wings were tied to her body, and she had a muzzle. She was in a dark room all alone, and she was vaguely aware that it was moving. _Where am I? This doesn't look like Drakonehm._

Her brain struggled to think back to what had happened. _I encountered those aliens…they tried to capture me, and they took my usekh…_She shuddered at the memory of losing the usekh, and essentially losing her sanity briefly. It reminded her of what happened to her clan that day.

Crystal shook her head, snorting as best she could. _Don't think about that; try to think about what happened to you._

She remembered when the usekh was placed back around her neck. At that time, it was the best feeling in the world. She smiled at the thought of it. _But then I fell unconscious…did those aliens take me back to their aircraft?_

Crystal growled at the thought of being kidnapped. _At least they know not to steal my usekh. Otherwise…_She didn't finish her thought.

Outside, the Vruttom leader, K'Dhae, was finishing up a visual call with his friend, a Plalseo named Gikan. He was a short, light-orange alien with a big belly, a flat round nose, and small, black eyes. He had a mop of darker orange hair, and wore an official-looking red trench coat over a black shirt and pants.

Gikan ran a traveling zoo, which was a giant saucer-shaped spaceship, filled with exotic animals from various planets. As a poacher, K'Dhae said that during his travels, he would keep an eye out for any animals that looked promising.

And promising the Ignis dragon that breathed ice did.

"You tellin' me the thing normally should breathe fire, but breathes ice instead?" Gikan asked incredulously.

"Believe me, old friend, I didn't believe it when I saw it." K'Dhae sighed. "She's a fighter even without her necklace. Froze two of my men, she did."

"'Without her necklace'?"

"Yeah. She's wearing some wide, golden necklace with purple gems. When we took it off, she suddenly turned into a bigger dragon and went on a rampage like you wouldn't believe. Froze two more men." He glanced back at the four Vruttoms laying side-by-side in a clear box that was slightly fogged from the heat inside. They were going to be dropped off at the hospital once they landed on the planet Gikan's zoo ship was currently residing. "So, keep the necklace on her."

Gikan nodded, stroking his chin. "How big is she?"

"Six feet tall, I think. Maybe a bit bigger. Her wings are probably about as wide as she is tall, and she has a long tail."

Gikan was already calculating how big a cage he would need to keep her in. "How much?"

"20,000 units."

"What?! 10,000 units."

"15,000."

"12,000. Last offer, K'Dhae."

Humming, the Vruttom nodded, "All right, you've got a deal. We'll be arriving in a couple hours, I suspect. And Gikan…don't take off her necklace." The visual message ended.

* * *

K'Dhae's small poacher ship soon found the planet, Slomia, where Gikan was stationed. Gikan stepped onto the smaller ship, leaving a large carrier on a low truck outside. "Welcome, old friend." D'Khae greeted, arms stretched outwards.

"It's good to see you too, K'Dhae. Do you still have the dragon?"

"Indeed. Men! Bring her in!"

Four Vruttoms came out of a room, two of each dragging something by a rope. Dragged into the room was Crystal, with her arms and wings still tied up, though her legs were released so she could walk. Her snout was also tied shut by the ropes which she was being dragged by. She tossed her head around, huffing through her nostrils angrily. She glared at all of the aliens in the room, including the new light-orange one.

"So, this is the dragon you picked up from Drakonehm?" Gikan asked.

K'Dhae nodded. Gikan circled around Crystal, who eyed him untrustingly. "Quite an interesting specimen." He said. "And she breathes ice?"

"Just ask our still-critically-cold Vruttoms."

"And she has light-blue stripes and eyes instead of red." One of the Vruttoms holding the dragon added.

"Hmm. She'll make a good addition to my zoo."

"Do you have the units?" K'Dhae asked, rubbing his webbed hands.

Gikan nodded, tossing a closed, metallic box to the yellow alien. "Her carrier is outside. Follow me."

The Vruttoms dragged Crystal, still tossing her head and growling, out of the ship, and into the carrier, where she had to lay down and curl her tail around herself. They reached through closable holes, loosened the ropes around her upper body and snout, and pulled them out and quickly shut the holes.

Crystal shoved her shoulders against the sides of the carrier, roaring and blowing ice out through small holes in the door. All that did was throw tiny ice balls out of her carrier and freeze the inside of the carrier's door.

Gikan laughed loudly. "She _does_ breathe ice! She'll be the star of my collection! She is money well-spent."

"You're welcome, Gikan. Now, if you excuse me, I must escort my thawing Vruttoms to the hospital." D'Khae and the four other Vruttoms turned and went back into the airship.

Gikan grinned down at the carrier. "Yes, money well-spent indeed. Not only do I have a dragon, but one who is almost the size of us aliens, and can breathe ice, despite being born a fire-breather. Today must be my lucky day." Chuckling, he boarded the truck and began driving into his large airship.

* * *

**A/N I've been kinda influenced in my writing by Stephen King lately (I've been reading Cujo for the past month) It really shows it in Crystal's POV during her "Hulk-out" (unless someone suggests something better, that's what I'll call it when she loses her usekh and turns into her true form) I'm also trying to write action-y scenes, including battle/war scenes a bit more detailed. Speaking of which, I've noticed when I'm describing a scene from a movie, I do pretty well; when I'm describing something in my head, that's another story. Not sure why it is...**

**I was originally gonna have Crystal be bought by a circus, and put in a lion tamer-esque act. But after a while, I realized this wouldn't really do so well with the story. So, I decided to put her in a zoo, though in this alien's case, "zoo" is used in a loose term. It's more of a collection of animals. I suppose like the Collector from the movie (kind of a weird dude, in my opinion) but with strictly animals.**

**So, if I write correctly, we should be meeting Rocket and Groot in the next chapter. After that, chapters won't come daily anymore; there'll be a bit of space in between updates.**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**random: Funnily enough, even though I haven't seen Frozen, I know the general story and characters. And especially when I was writing the parts after Crystal leaves home and steals the usekh, it was very inspired by Let it Go. I just chose for Crys to have ice powers because it's different from the average fire-breathing dragon.**

**Stephen King is a famous writer, very well-known for writing horror stories, such as Cujo, Misery, Carrie, and The Shining, though he's written other genres of stories as well. He just has an interesting writing style, including small excerpts of backstory for secondary characters, and in the case of Cujo, writing in the POV of Cujo, who is a St. Bernard who comes down with rabies.**

**Maybe :)**

**I'm actually planning on writing a Felidae/Warriors crossover (both have cats as main characters, though the former is an adult horror/mystery film, and the latter is a whole series of feral cats living in clans in the forest) and more than likely will involve literal cat fights. So if and when I write that, I'll probably have quite a bit of practice in that field.**

* * *

Gikan drove the carrier next to a larger cage. This cage was made of thick bars all in a row, and a roof and floor made of solid steel, and a door that slid up and down, with a smaller door in the middle to allow food in.

Gikan pressed a button, opening the carrier. Crystal ran out, smashing her face against two of the bars in the cage. She pulled the end of her snout out between two bars, shook her head, and looked over her shoulder just as the cage was closed at locked.

"You're a one in a million dragon," Gikan grinned, standing in front of the cage, stubby fingers laced. "You were meant to breathe fire, yet you breathe ice."

_Don't remind me._ Crystal growled. She had lost her voice from all of the roaring and growling, and something told her to not reveal that she could speak. Dragons had evolved to be able to speak all sorts of languages.

"You're going to make me so much money, I can taste it already." He slurped and licked his lips greedily, making the dragon cringe in disgust. "Yes, well-spent money indeed." He turned and left, laughing to himself.

Crystal sat down, leaning back against the bars of the cage. She stretched her legs forward, sighing heavily. She had the intention of leaving Drakonehm for months, but she didn't have this method in mind. She didn't think she would be kidnapped and sold. She didn't quite understand what she was meant to do in a cage, and she had a feeling she wouldn't like it.

* * *

Crystal was right in that she wouldn't like her new life. She was stuck in a cage only big enough so she could stand, spread her wings all the way, and walk around. She was never let out to fly, and she certainly couldn't run around without almost smacking into the bars of the cage.

Meat was slipped into the cage two times a day. She was also chained to the side of the cage whenever her cage was cleaned so she wouldn't escape. Each time the door was unlocked and relocked, she paid close attention to how the lock worked.

At some point, she slipped her tail through the bars, stuck the tip of her tail dagger into the keyhole, and jiggled it around, trying to unlock it. But she didn't know how to picklock, and she was caught by one of Gikan's workers.

As punishment, Crystal went a full day without food, and her tail dagger was painfully cut off so the end of her tail looked like a Terran lizard's, and so she wouldn't try to break out again.

Crystal nursed her injured tail, sending glares at anyone who walked by her cage. This included visitors to the zoo airship.

The airship she now lived in, called the CS Tesserae, was often frequented by tourists and planet locals, wanting to see the animals Gekin collected. It was more of a collection than a zoo, because the animals were in small cages that they could only walk and turn around in, as opposed to large exhibits that they could run around in. In this "zoo," Crystal was the newest attraction, being advertised as a rare dragon that was the size of a typical Terran.

For the first day, she laid curled up in the large cage, facing away from the crowd. The crowd was made up of all sorts of aliens in all sorts of colors, all gawking and pointing at her in awe and delight. But when Gikan saw Crystal ignoring the crowd, he smacked her nose through the bars with a cane, and poked at her until she turned around. Realizing how stiff her limbs were, she stood on her toes, stretching her legs, and spread her wings as far as they could, making the crowd cheer.

Gikan was right in that she would make him money. When word got out, everyone from all corners of the planet, and others for that matter, wanted to see the Terran Ice Dragon, as she was dubbed. She had been "coaxed" into showing her ice breath when Gikan turned off the air conditioner blowing into her cage, and she had to cool herself off.

After a while, Crystal "entertained" the crowds by pacing around her cage, either on all fours or on her hind legs, stretching her wings, and occasionally freezing the bars of her cage.

But she was also able to entertain herself, to an extent. While she lost her spear-shaped tail dagger, her tail was now fully-prehensile. While she was laying or sitting, leaning against the sides of her cage, she would slip her tail out between the bars, and would secretly take objects from visitors viewing her, including water bottles in carriers, food from bags, and wallets from pockets. But she had no use for them—unless she was thirsty or hungry—and left them in front of her cage, and pulled her tail back in, leaving everyone none the wiser.

But despite these little fun activities, Crystal still hated her current living situation. She could barely move around, she couldn't fly at all, and she had to keep silent; something inside her just told her to stay silent, or she would be in bigger trouble.

She was surprised the aliens that captured her—which she learned were called Vruttoms—didn't tell Gikan that she yelled out "no" when they removed her usekh.

* * *

One day, Crystal was sitting in her cage, as usual. Every now and then, she would create a large ball of ice, which she would then gnaw on. It didn't satisfy her thirst, she was just bored.

Very few people had come to the CS Tesserae. Only a few people were scattered about, most of which were looking at other caged creatures. Not that Crystal cared.

She heard a grumpy voice sound from behind. "…only promised to take you here because we got such a good load last time. So, you better be grateful."

"I am Groot." **[Very grateful.]**

Perking her ears up curiously, Crystal stood up and turned around, gripping two bars. She looked down in time to see a small, furry, gray creature with a dark mask, and bushy ringed tail walk by. He was dressed in an orange suit with black accents, and carried a large gun over his shoulder.

Following behind him was a tall, brown tree-like creature, He had green moss spattered across his body, and glanced around the ship with curiosity.

As the two walked by, Crystal's sharp nose picked up the scent of wood and moss, which she always liked. Then, her nose began to itch. She wrinkled it until it went away, sighing. But all of a sudden, she sneezed loudly, sending snowflakes flying towards the tree-like creature. _My stupid nose _always_ gets me in trouble!_

The tree creature froze and turned around. He had a somewhat flat face, with no nose, and small, black, kind-looking eyes. He cocked his head at her and approached the cage, forgetting about his friend.

Crystal stayed still and quiet, staring at the tree creature, who stared back at her. They remained silent for several seconds before Crystal whispered pitifully, before she could stop herself, "Help me."

The tree creature blinked in surprise and confusion. "Hey, Groot!" The voice from before yelled. "What the heck're you doing?" The furry creature trotted up to him. "What are you looking at?" He looked up at Crystal, and his eyebrows rose. "Never seen a dragon like this before."

"I am Groot." **[She asked me to help her.]**

"She 'asked' you? She talked?"

"I can hear you two." Crystal deadpanned.

The furry creature jumped, turning to her. "Well, ain't that nice? Well, look, Dragon, we're not staying for long. We only came because Groot wanted to visit the CS Tesserae. We're not heroes looking to rescue the innocent."

Crystal curled her teeth at the small alien. "Well, I had no way of knowing. All I want is for someone to get me out of this hellhole. Don't either of you know what it's like to be in a small cage, where the only things you can do is walk around in a small space and lay down?"

The furry creature's ears tilted in slight sympathy. "Yeah, I know. But why would we free you?"

"I am Groot!" **[Rocket! She's desperate.]**

"As much as I loathe to admit it, I _am_ somewhat desperate."

The creature, evidently named Rocket, did a double-take at the dragon. "You can understand Groot?"

"Sure. We Drakonehm dragons can understand almost all languages…though a select few escape us."

"You're from Drakonehm?"

"I was. I was captured by Vruttoms and sold to this greedy alien, who is exploiting me for money."

Groot moved his hand through the bars of the cage and patted Crystal's head sympathetically. She chuckled, leaning her head against the comforting pat.

"Listen, it looks like Groot wants to help you, but—"

"Hey!" Gikan stormed in, snarling like an animal. "Get away from her!"

Rocket jumped back, and Groot stepped away as well. "Step away from my dragon! Unless you want to be her next dinner! Scram!"

"Jeez, pushy." Rocket scoffed, walking away with a shake of his head. Groot followed him, glancing back sorrowfully at Crystal, who shrugged.

"Don't get any ideas about using baby-doll eyes to get away." Gikan hissed in the dragon's face. "Because I'm not losing anything that makes me big money!"

Curling her lip, Crystal blew a gust of ice into his face, creating thick frost on his nose and upper lip.

He jumped back, crying out in surprise. He wiped the frost off of his face, glaring at her. "For _that_, you can forget about eating, even if those two come back!" He stomped away, grumbling under his breath.

Even though she could already feel her stomach complaining of the upcoming hunger, Crystal felt that was worth it.

* * *

**A/N So, Gikan is very greedy when it comes to money (or units, as the GotG universe calls it; I might forget every now and then)**

**I was actually kinda torn between Crystal losing her tail dagger or not. On the one hand, she could use it as a weapon; on the other, in my mind, it'll make it easier for her to pickpocket. In the end, I decided she would lose it (ain't I nice? :3)**

**Not quite how I envisioned Rocket and Groot being introduced into the story, but whatever. Groot's pretty easy to write (I decided since this is written in Crystal's POV, and Drakonehm dragons understand multiple languages [they're totally lost on sign language though] I would translate Groot-speak) it's Rocket that I'm kinda having trouble with. I tried to make him kinda indifferent to Crystal's situation, but at the same time, understanding in terms of being kept in a small cage, which I assumed he would know from experience when it comes to his backstory, if that makes sense. Hopefully he's not too OOC though.**

**I'll probably post the next chapter tomorrow, since I want more Rocket and Groot involved before I switch to having chapters coming out every few days.**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**NinjaDino721: Thanks :D I DO try to have my plots well thought out. I actually think them up months before I write them (this story, for example, I began "thinking up" before GotG came out on DVD) I'm glad you're liking this.**

**random gal: I guess that's true.**

**Yeah, he's such a sweetheart :3 Part of the reason why he's my favorite of the Galaxy Guardians.**

**That's also true. I didn't really think about that in advance, but I had it in mind when writing this chapter (you'll see what I mean) I hope I wrote him well in this.**

* * *

Rocket rubbed his temples, groaning. If he had longer hair, he would be tugging at it. He wanted to get out of the city before anyone recognized him or Groot, but his partner was the very thing keeping them there. All because he wanted to free some dragon he had just met.

"Groot, seriously! She's a zoo animal—"

"I am Groot." He corrected his furry friend.

"All right, a zoo animal that talks. But that doesn't mean we need to save her. What, should we save every animal that talks to us and lives in a zoo?"

"I am Groot?"

"No, I didn't hear the others talk. I doubt they could. If they did, no doubt they'd be asking to be set free as well. What makes this dragon so special?"

Groot just stared down at Rocket with an expression that was somehow both stern and pleading.

The furry alien clenched his fists over his eyes in frustration. He then remembered the dragon was wearing some sort of wide collar-like necklace with large purple diamonds. _Could be worth a lot._ The greedy side of him whispered.

_Dragons aren't known to share their treasure._ His logical side countered.

_Maybe she'll be grateful enough when we save her that she'll let you have it._

Sighing, Rocket dropped his hands. "All right, buddy. You wanna save her? Fine. At night, let's go back."

Groot smiled widely, and grabbed Rocket in a hug. "Ack! Put me down, ya sap!" He shouted, squirming until the tree creature set him back down.

That night, Rocket and Groot snuck back into the CS Tesserae after it was closed. Gikan had announced earlier that day that it was the last day he and his zoo would be on Slomia.

So the thieving duo had to hurry.

It was fairly easy to sneak in. Gikan was so cheap that he didn't have security cameras, or any kind of security measures, for that matter; just a lot of locks, which Groot made quick work of destroying.

Rocket looked around in the dim lights for the dragon he and Groot met earlier that day. He didn't like being back here. He hadn't even wanted to go earlier that day. Being around the cage animals reminded him too much of his past, when he was nothing but a science experiment. He shivered at the memories of being vivisected and put back together, over and over, before he was able to escape.

Shaking his head of the memories, he continued to look around. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the large cage containing the orange and icy-blue dragon. She was curled up, asleep, with her arms crossed in front of her chest and necklace.

"Groot!" Rocket whispered harshly. "She's over here!"

Groot hurried over to the cage as Rocket climbed up the bars and on top.

Crystal was woken from her slumber by something skittering up the side and top of her cage. She blinked the sleep from her eyes, yawned, and looked to see a wooden creature with black eyes, and triangle-shaped peaks on the top of his head.

"Groot?" She mumbled, still a little sleepy. "Wha' are you doing here?"

"Shush!" Rocket said, looking down at her, upside down, from the roof of the cage. "We're bustin' you outta here."

Crystal smiled, now wide-awake. "Really?!"

"Shh! Don't talk so loud! You'll attract attention."

"The padlock is towards the middle," She said, nodding at the door. "The key's the only thing that unlocks it. I tried to unlock it with my tail dagger, but they caught me and cut it off."

"Hah! I don't need a key." Rocket grinned. He climbed onto the door, and stuck one claw into the keyhole. He jiggled it around, laying his ear against the door above the keyhole.

Crystal stood up and watched the furry alien with wide eyes. "What convinced you to help me?"

"It's not 'what,' it's 'who.' Groot really wanted to help you."

Crystal turned to Groot, who smiled at her. She smiled back. "Thank you, Groot."

"Don't thank us yet," Rocket said, still picking the lock. "You're not out yet. By the way," He grinned down at her, glancing at the usekh. "That's a nice-looking necklace you got."

Crystal fingered the gold plates and large purple diamonds. "It's the Usekh of Humanus. It's an ancient treasure of Drakonehm."

"How'd you get it in _your_ hands…or around your neck, rather?"

"I stole it." She shrugged.

"Really?" Rocket's eyebrows shot up. "Sure looks fancy…and expensive. How much do you think it's worth?"

Crystal narrowed her eyes, glancing at Groot, who shrugged. "It's a priceless treasure, both to Drakonehm and to me."

"Sure it is. But how much money do you think it could get? We could split it three ways."

"…I'm sorry, Mr. Rocket. I'm afraid you misunderstood me. I'm not giving you my usekh. It goes where I go." She said slowly. "It's more important than just how much it's worth."

"How so?" He asked, finally unlocking the door. But he didn't get down and open it.

"Believe me, it's better that you don't know." Crystal pushed the door open, to Rocket's surprise, and stepped out, stretching all of her limbs happily. "I can finally walk more than a tail's length!" She cheered.

"Shut up!" Rocket exclaimed, jumping down.

"What's going on out there?!" A voice yelled.

Crystal's eyes widened, recognizing the voice as Gikan's. "Run!" Rocket shouted. He and Groot ran to the entrance, with Crystal following close behind on all fours. The other caged animals, awakened by the loud voices, cheered for their escaped comrade.

Just as they were approaching the exit, Gikan and all of his workers, which were dozens of other Plalseoes, blocked their way.

Rocket and Groot skidded to a halt. "You two again?" Gikan growled. "Don't try to free my dragon!"

"Too late, fatty." Rocket grinned. He and Groot stepped to the sides, revealing Crystal, who was standing on her hind legs.

Gikan's face morphed into one of surprise and horror. When Crystal was in her cage, he could control her better, and had dominance over her. But when she was outside, and he was without a weapon, he was powerless.

Smirking, Crystal breathed ice on the floor beneath the Plalseoes' feet, making it slippery like an ice rink. Gikan and some of his workers slipped about, waving their arms around to try and keep their balance. The others managed to charge towards the three other aliens.

Rocket climbed onto Groot's shoulder as the Flora Colossus roared, swiping the oncoming aliens away with his long arms, which grew bigger, with more branches branching out. Rocket cocked his gun and fired at the Plalseoes with good accuracy.

Crystal swiped at the Plalseoes with her tail, throwing punches at them when they attacked her, and used her teeth at times as well. She then saw Gikan trying to run away. Growling, she followed him outside and blew a large ice beam at the running alien, freezing him in his tracks in a large block of ice. "Let's go, boys!" She called.

Nodding, Groot followed after her. Rocket jumped to the ground and ran after them, leaving the dead and unconscious Plalseoes behind.

* * *

Crystal slowed down in the forest, panting. Having stayed in a small space for several days, she was a bit out of shape.

Groot and Rocket caught up to her, glancing back to see if anyone was following. "That's a first: a dragon breathing ice." The furry creature remarked.

"Is that a problem?" Crystal snapped bitterly. Her having ice breath had gotten her into so much trouble, that while it was a good weapon, she was starting to take offence when someone pointed it out.

"Hey, not at all!" Rocket held his hands up. "It gave us a head start in that battle back there."

"I am Groot." **[It's very unique.]** Groot agreed, smiling.

"Yeah? My clan thought so too, though not in a good way." She scoffed.

"Look, Dragon—"

"Crystal…though I prefer Crys." She interrupted. _I think it might be high time to have a different name._

"Crys, we got you out of that prison—"

"And I thank you both very much. I owe you one."

"Yeah, and I got an idea: how about seeing how much this usekh is worth?" Rocket suggested, climbing onto Crys's shoulder and examining it closely.

Scowling, Crys shrugged her shoulder, knocking him to the ground. "I already told you, Ringtail, I can't give it to you."

"Why the hell not? Are dragons really that greedy with their treasure?" Rocket asked, standing and brushing himself off.

"That, I suppose, and because if it's removed from me…it's dangerous. Let's just say that, and leave it at that. Again, thank you, both of you, for getting me out of that prison. I owe both of you a great debt." Bowing her head briefly, Crys turned and took off into the sky, laughing with joy as she was able to fly again.

"Jeez, greedy dragons." Rocket grumbled. "'If it's removed from me, it's dangerous.' How dangerous could she be if her necklace is stolen?"

"I am Groot." **[Leave her alone. It must mean a lot to her.]** The Flora Colossus chided.

"I just don't get how it'd be 'dangerous' if it's taken."

* * *

**A/N I don't really know why I didn't have Groot-speak translated at the beginning of the chapter. But with Rocket's responses, I think it's pretty easy to figure out what he's saying.**

**Speaking of Rocket, I figured he had seen Crystal's usekh, and with it being gold and having large gems, he would think it could be expensive. So, he's only agreeing to rescuing her because he thinks she can help them get rich. Of course, he doesn't know what will happen when the usekh is removed. And the only reason he agreed for the money is because A) he was only interested in catching Starlord, in the movie, because he had a large bounty over his head, and B) most thieves are "in it" for the money. And I reckon he and Groot do it to stay alive as well, buying food, at least for Rocket. He probably doesn't live primarily off of wild food and trash, like Terran raccoons.**

**I'm really trying to get more details in my battle/ war scenes. I'm not necessarily obsessing over it, I just know I need practice with them, and I'm trying to get as much practice with them as I can.**

**The reason Crystal's shortened her name is because she's kinda trying to leave the past behind her. Even though it's a shortened version of her name, it's a different name nonetheless. So, she'll be referred to as "Crys" from here on out instead of "Crystal."**

**As I said, I'm gonna leave some space in between chapters after this one. I actually prefer leaving breaks between chapters because not only does it give other people a chance to read the newly-uploaded chapter before the new one comes in, but writing chapters in one fell swoop can be kinda tiring. I prefer taking my time with them by writing a little each day. So, when there's no new chapter tomorrow, don't be alarmed.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**The Rainbow Devowerer: Yep :) Glad you like this.**

**aandm20: Thanks :)**

**random gal: I figured that would be how Rocket would think at least.**

**I actually had big writer's block, and was kinda lazy with writing. But I finally got it done.**

* * *

As Crys settled on a strong tree branch to go to sleep, she thought back to the curious duo who rescued her.

Rocket seemed somewhat rude and greedy. But at the same time, he seemed like he held a lot of secrets. She thought back to when he said he understood what it was like to be in a small cage. And his eyes held sympathy for a minute. So, she wondered what happened to him to cause him to have that sympathy.

And then there was Groot. He was a creature unlike one Crys had ever seen. She had seen trees her whole life, and she had seen her fair share of aliens. But she had never seen an alien tree until that day. Even though most people thought he was simply saying "I am Groot," but to her, and apparently Rocket, he was speaking like any other person. He just didn't say much. And he was quite a friendly and sweet creature. After all, he was the first to see Crys, and actually responded to her plea, and evidently convinced his friend to help as well.

Crys felt Rocket and Groot were one of those duos who when separate, they didn't look like they could go together, but when they were together, they just clicked. And she had seen them in battle. They worked together well in every way.

As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if they would ever bump into each other again.

* * *

Early in the morning, Crys's ear twitched at the sounds of yells from a long ways away. Lifting her head and shaking the sleep from her head, she looked around until she determined which direction the sounds were. Then, she jumped to the ground, stretched, and ran in that direction.

Poking her head through some bushes, she saw Rocket surrounded by several Plalseoes, all holding spears. The furry alien had his ears pinned back, was growling, and his hind leg was bleeding. His gun was held on his back by a leather strap.

Crys leapt up and into the "battlefield," landing near Rocket, on two legs, with a loud thump. The Plalseoes jumped in surprise, but recognized her. "Fancy seein' you again, Crys." Rocket remarked.

"Where's Groot?"

"We got separated. He's probably looking for me."

The Plalseoes finally attacked. Crys leapt into the air, hovered, and spun around, freezing a circle of the Plalseoes and creating a sort of icy crater. Rocket climbed and jumped out of the "crater," but didn't get very far before a Plalseo smacked him to the ground.

Narrowing her eyes, Crys froze the ground under the Plalseoes and Rocket, causing them to slip as they ran. Then, she ran across the ice on all fours, grabbed the back of Rocket's suit in her mouth, and leapt up, pumping her wings.

Blinking in surprise at being suddenly grabbed, Rocket twisted himself around and climbed onto her neck. Her neck spines were short and flexible, and he was able to sit between them directly in front of her usekh.

The Plalseoes didn't give up easily. One who had lost its spear grabbed a rock and threw it at Crys with surprising strength and accuracy. It hit her hard in the leg, causing her to begin falling. She managed to glide further and into a forest before tumbling to the ground, head over heels, making Rocket skid across the ground as well.

Groaning, Crys rubbed the back of her neck, freezing when she didn't feel the hard gold plates. "Oh no!" She gasped. "My usekh!"

"So you lost your necklace," Rocket scoffed standing up slowly. "Big deal."

"You don't understand! I need my…my usekh—" She groaned in pain, clutching her head.

Rocket turned to her, his unspoken harsh words dying in his throat as he saw what the lack of usekh did to Crys. Her cries of pain morphed into angry roars as she grew into a huge dragon, with long back spines, powerful muscles, giant wings, and angry icy-blue eyes. She threw her head back in a mighty roar.

The Plalseoes, who came running, froze at the sight of the angry dragon. Growing, Crys advanced towards them, baring her sharp teeth.

_I'm not giving you my usekh. It goes where I go. It's more important to me than just how much it's worth…If it's removed from me…it's dangerous._ Rocket's mind played back the hidden warnings Crys gave him and Groot when the furry alien tried to take the usekh for money. He found himself looking around for the gold necklace, hoping the rogue dragon didn't find him as she chased, froze, and fought the Plalseoes.

Finally, he found the usekh. It had grown when it fell off of Crys's neck, but was the same as it had been before: same golden plates, and same large purple diamonds.

Rocket stared at the large necklace with greedy eyes, trying to calculate how much it would go for in the black market. But the small logical part of his mind said that Crys would continue to rage without the usekh, and possibly go after him should he run with it.

Finally, a familiar alien ran through the trees, black eyes lighting up when he saw his friend. He froze when he saw Crys as a raging, huge dragon, and stared at Rocket, who still held the usekh. "I am Groot?" **[What's happened?]**

"This is why she needs her necklace, buddy." Rocket said, standing. He looped the usekh around his shoulder and stood up, finally making a decision. "Distract her, and I'll try and get it back on her. Just be careful, she has ice breath."

Groot nodded, and lifted Rocket onto his own broad shoulders. He ran with long strides to the still-roaring dragon, who had just frozen the last Plalseo.

Crys turned to the Flora Colossus running towards her, and narrowed her eyes. She breathed an ice beam to him, but he jumped to the side with surprising speed, and threw out his long arm towards her. His arm and fingers grew and grabbed her snout, clamping it shut. Rocket ran up Groot's arm and clung to the dragon's neck as she pulled away from Groot, ripping his arm in half, and began tossing her head around.

Groot backed away from her, roaring at her to keep her distracted. She chased after him, growing, with steam appearing to blow out of her nose, similar to one's breath being seen when the air was cold.

Rocket scurried up to Crys's head, hanging on as tight as he could with his legs just behind her horns. He pulled the usekh off of his shoulder, stretched forward, and swung the necklace, managing to hook it around the end of her snout. Before she could notice him, he pulled it down over her ears and horns, and slid backwards down her neck.

Crys began shrinking, groaning in pain again as her body shrunk and rearranged its bones and limbs. Rocket fell off of her, but was caught by Groot before he hit the ground. Cry collapsed on the ground as her body was finally back to the form she had lived as for over a year. She pushed herself up, groaning in pain, as the memories of the past several minutes came back: finding Rocket, helping and rescuing him from the Plalseoes, losing her usekh, and thus going rogue.

She held a hand over her eyes, sighing heavily. She had endangered both of her new friends—she vaguely remembered Groot coming and distracting her—and they had seen how dangerous she could be without her usekh. Part of her was glad Rocket had seen the dangers, but she still felt bad.

Groot slowly approached Crys, ignoring Rocket's hisses to leave her alone, and crouched on one knee by her. He felt her guilt and sorrow, and somehow knew she hadn't meant to go rogue. Rocket had told him all he knew about dragons the previous night, including that they normally looked like how Crys looked today without her usekh. So her usekh must have some form of magic concealing her true form.

He laid his hand on her shoulder, ignoring her flinch, and smiled gently down at her as she turned to look at him, tears in her eyes. He moved his hand up to stroke down her head and rub behind one ear.

Sniffling, Crys nudged her head against his chest, muttering that she was sorry. Groot said nothing, and wrapped his arm across her shoulders.

Rocket stood off to the side, staring at the strange sight of a dragon, who had previously roared and attacked like a wild animal, being comforted by a gentle giant of a Flora Colossus. He slowly approached them, eyeing Crys as tears ran down her round furry cheeks.

She saw him out of the corner of her eye. She turned to him and said, "Rocket…I'm so sorry."

"…Now I know what you meant by it being dangerous if you lost your usekh." He chuckled dryly. One eye squinted as a small pulse of pain shot through his still-injured leg.

Crys's ears perked up at the dried blood on the furry alien's pants, remembering when she first saw him among the Plalseoes. "You're injured!"

Eyes widening, Groot left the dragon, grabbed up his friend, and ran out of the forest. Cocking her head, Crys followed after them.

They came upon a small camp, with a put-out fire, small sleeping bag, and a white box with a red plus on it. It was a wonder no one found the camp.

Groot set Rocket down and managed to open the box with one hand, as his other had been reduced to a few roots. He took out some wide bandages as Rocket pulled the leg of his pants up.

Crys took the bandages and tore them into thinner strips while Groot cleaned Rocket's leg and covered it in medicine. Crys helped the Flora Colossus dress the furry alien's wound.

"So, what's the deal with that necklace?" Rocket asked. "And what exactly is your story?"

"Like I said, it was a treasure on Drakonehm. It turns the wearer into this form, but at a heavy price: our true forms are constrained, and when the usekh is removed…I have a theory that the magic creates energy in order to constrain our true forms, and when the magic is taken away, and the energy causes us to turn into our true forms, the energy causes our aggression to skyrocket. But sometimes things just can't be explained, I suppose. For me, it's both a gift and a curse."

"I am Groot?" **[Why did you steal it in the first place?]** Groot asked.

Taking a deep breath, Crys said, "Let's just say in my clan, an Ignis that breathes ice…I'm surprised I'm still alive. Something happened…something horrible…and I just left." She shuddered at the memories. Groot and Rocket glanced at each other in confusion. "I just wanted to be different. Not necessarily when it comes to my ice breath, but…I didn't want to be the same dragon as…that day. The fear of becoming that dragon, of having that rage…that makes me more scared about losing my usekh than any other dragon wearing it."

Rocket and Groot figured they wouldn't get the "something horrible" out of Crys anytime soon, but they mostly understood why she wanted the usekh. "Um…thanks, for back there, I guess." Rocket said.

Crys smiled, understanding that he didn't usually thank people, except for Groot, for helping him. "Certainly. I'm sorry that you had to see me at my worse."

"Well, what're you gonna do now?"

"Honestly…I have no idea. I guess avoid getting caught again? I'm a long, long away from home…but I don't want to go back home."

Suddenly, there was a sharp, short _whoosh_. Rocket yelped in pain, reaching back to feel his shoulder. His eyes widened when he felt a dart. "Oh, sh—" He fell unconscious.

"I am Groot!" **[Run!]** Groot exclaimed, grabbing up the furry alien.

Crys took off deeper into the forest, slowing down when she didn't hear the heavy footsteps behind her anymore. Looking back, she saw Groot surrounded by several purple aliens with long hooved legs, large tusks poking out of the corners of their mouths, and blue horse-like tails. They were all wearing gray clothing with golden badges.

Crys ran back to Groot and Rocket, who was still unconscious, and froze one alien. Another alien shot a dart at her, getting her in the left thigh. She growled in pain and staggered on her feet, moaning as she collapsed on the ground. The purple aliens and Groot stared down at her as her vision darkened.

* * *

**A/N As I said earlier, I had a lot of writer's block with this chapter, and was kinda lazy about getting it done. Hopefully, though, it's still going fine.**

**One scene I always had in mind, before I wrote this story, was Crys freezing the ground when she and/or Rocket are fighting other aliens; then she slides on her belly, grabbing Rocket by the back of his shirt as she slides by him. This chapter also kinda shows how big she is compared to at least Rocket: he's able to ride on her neck/shoulders just fine.**

**I'm not sure if I described how her back spines looked when she's in anthro-form (in her true form, they're long and thin like icicles) But I felt it would look better if they were short. I'm not sure if it would be "anatomically-correct" for them to be flexible. I tend to add logic to my stories, but I also try to remember that most of the fanfics I write are based on fantasy.**

**Now Rocket's seen what the lack of usekh does to Crys. I hope he wasn't too OOC in deciding to give it back to her. But I think even if he tried to leave, Groot would catch him and convince him to give it back to her.**

**If you're wondering how Rocket can do all that with an injured leg...adrenalin's an interesting thing ;)**

**I was originally gonna have her join Rocket and Groot after the whole fiasco, but it didn't seem right. I was planning on having them get caught and imprisoned anyway (it's how Crys gets her "criminal reputation") so I felt this would be better.**

**The aliens that caught them are called Draalps. The name was from _Fantasy Name Generators_, while the description was briefly taken from _Alien Species Generator _at _Scifi Names_. Again, I tend to not be good at coming up with alien species ^^;**

**Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to write and upload as this one did.**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**random gal: Thanks :D Glad he isn't too OOC. Yeah, I guess that's true, I didn't really think about that. Maybe he was just tired? Not only did he get injured, but he also had to briefly deal with a rogue Crys.**

**Guest: I makes it more interesting, in my opinion. Plus, in regards to the ending of the last chapter, Rocket and Groot are wanted criminals; Crys was simply captured because she fought the Draalps, and was considered dangerous.**

**Thanks :)**

* * *

When she woke up, Crys was sitting, with her arms, legs, tail, and neck strapped to the chair she was in, and there was something on her head, strapped tightly under her chin.

As her blurry vision sharpened, she saw the aliens that attacked Rocket, Groot, and her. She growled and tried to open her mouth to bite or fire ice, but found that her muzzle was tied up as well.

One alien tapped some buttons on a nearby machine. Crys felt pinpricks in her head. They were no more painful than a splinter in her foot. What was painful, however, were the electric shocks pulsing through the needles that sunk themselves into her skull from the helmet on her head. High-pitched screams came from her nose, her body spasmed, and her claws sunk into the chair.

On a computer screen, which she couldn't see, information came up about the dragon: her name, age, gender, and details about her past life. What she didn't know was that this machine looked through the memories in her brain, including the crimes she committed, and displayed them on a screen for the aliens, called Draalps, to see.

Crys's crimes were several counts of homicide and attempted homicide, and one count of thievery. The fact that she associated and worked with two other criminals didn't help her much either.

Finally, the painful pulses stopped, the needles were pulled out of her head, and the helmet was taken away. Crys collapsed as much as she could in her confined situation, panting through her nose.

A tall Draalp approached her, arms behind his back. He too wore a gray uniform, and a golden badge. The badge had the name "Bloshckor" on it. "If you promise to not bite or breathe ice on us, we'll take away the muzzle." He bargained.

Narrowing her eyes, Crys nodded once. She sighed with relief when the tight cloth was untied from around her snout. "Now then, are you Crystal?"

"I prefer 'Crys,' but yes."

"And you've committed several counts of homicide and attempted homicide? It means murder." Bloshckor added.

"…Yes." She grumbled. She didn't know why she was admitting this, but she was still recovering from the pain she endured, and was too tired to try and lie.

"And you stole a precious treasure?" He tapped the usekh, which was still around her neck, with dark-blue hooved-fingers.

"Yes. It must stay on me."

"We're aware of the Usekh of Humanus and its powers. And we'll contact the prison guards with this information. However, it will be _your_ responsibility of keeping it on and not jeopardizing our lives. Now then, you're to come with us. This is your first time in prison, yes? Well then, you're in for a real treat." He smirked as Crys gave him an incredulous look as she was released from the chair, only to have her wrists shackled.

She was shoved into a room, where mugshots were taken of her from the front and sides. Then, she was shoved into a cage with a bunk bed, toilet, sink, and a single chair. She growled over her shoulder at the treatment, and sat in her chair, sighing heavily. "A fine mess you've gotten yourself into, Crys."

* * *

As night began to fall, the prisoners were led into the mess hall for dinner. Crys curled her lip at the tray she held, which had disgusting-looking food. She wasn't picky, but she wasn't stupid either; she knew better than to eat what looked like rotten food.

Her ears perked up when he saw a familiar Flora Colossus. She slowly approached him and Rocket, wondering if they would be somehow upset with her.

They were both sitting at a table, all alone. Rocket was wearing a green prison uniform, and was poking at his tray of food. He turned to the side, finally noticing Crys. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Ice Thief."

"Don't snap at me, Ringtail." She frowned. "It wasn't my fault we were caught."

"You probably attracted their attention with your rogue attack."

"I never meant to lose my usekh." She sat down across from the duo, letting her tray smack onto the table. "And besides, it was the Plalseoes' fault that happened, which means it was their fault we were caught."

"I am Groot!" **[Stop arguing! This isn't helping.]** Groot frowned, sounding surprisingly stern.

"He's right," Rocket sighed. "What we really need to think about is escaping."

"How?" Crys scoffed. "These walls look indestructible. And so do the ceiling and floor."

"I got a plan. You're in a cell on ground floor, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay. It seems that this prison was built directly on the dirt. And the floor's made of concrete slabs pushed tightly together."

"So if we remove the slabs, we'll be able to dig out?"

"Precisely, my icy-breathed friend." Rocket nodded. "But here's the tricky part: according to the 'locals,' the guards patrol past the cells at night. So, it'll be slow work digging out, unless you can dig within sight of them without them noticing."

"I have some ideas." Crys smirked.

"Great. Luckily, Groot and I are in the same cell, and are on ground floor as well. So, at night, when there are less guards around, we'll pry up the concrete slabs, and start digging. But remember: we have to be discrete."

Back in her cell, Crys paced around and around, and patted the ground, until she found a crack in the floor. It was near the bed and by the wall facing the outdoors. Making sure she wasn't being watched, she dug at the concrete with her hard claws until she created a large piece that she could finally lift up. As Rocket said, underneath was pure dirt.

She lay on the ground so she looked like she was curled up asleep, and was in front of the hole. Looking over her shoulder, she began digging away. The dirt wasn't too hard to dig through.

_Wait! What am I going to do with this excess dirt?_ Looking around, she spied the sink and toilet. She took a handful of dirt, and poured it down the sink drain hole. Then she took another handful, and dropped it in the toilet.

Once she was starting to feel tired from digging and hiding the dirt, she flushed the toilet and ran the sink until the dirt was gone—she had seen other inmates using the toilet and sink, so she knew what to do. Then, she covered the hole with the piece of concrete, laid down in front of it, and fell asleep.

It took several weeks for Crys to dig the tunnel. Luckily, she got a roommate, a female Draalp named Varae, who was more than happy to help with the digging. Crys would sit directly in front of her new friend, who dug with three-fingered hands. The dragon was big enough so that Varae was able to dig without being spotted. The guards were none the wiser, thinking that the other prisoner was simply sitting behind the dragon.

Finally, a few weeks after being caught and imprisoned, Crys and Varae met up with Rocket and Groot again. "How's the tunnel goin' along?" The furry alien asked.

"Great." Crys said. "With Varae helping," She patted her on the shoulder. "It's going along twice as fast."

"Good. How long do you think until you hit the outside surface?"

"I'm not sure. We'll probably try digging upwards tonight."

"I'll do it," Varae volunteered. "I'm smaller than you."

"How's your and Groot's tunnel coming along?"

"It's going, don't you worry. I predict that either tonight or tomorrow, we'll get out of this dump."

* * *

Sure enough, that night, Varae was digging upwards in the tunnel, as promised. She squealed when her hand broke through the surface, and felt a cold wind. She turned around and popped up behind Crys. "We've got wind, Crys."

"Excellent." Crys grinned. "Don't make a wide hole; we wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious. Just dig out a makeshift room big enough for me. Then, when Rocket gives us the okay, we'll go down, and pull the concrete slab over us."

"You do it, I'm beat."

Sighing, Crys ducked down into the tunnel to dig the "room" she described. Luckily, Varae had taken the sheets out of the bunk beds, saying she didn't like sheets or blankets, and tucked them into the top bunk, creating a sort of canopy for the bottom bunk. The guards didn't seem to care. If they didn't see Crys, they assumed she was asleep in the bottom bunk.

The next day, during lunch, Rocket gave the okay for the females to dig out. "Groot and I are ready to go too. Just don't get caught."

"We haven't been caught once, right V?" Crys grinned.

"Not one single time." She nodded.

"There's a first time for everything." Rocket warned.

Late that night, after the last guard left, Crys nudged Varae awake. "Come one, we got a prison to escape."

Varae leapt to her feet as the dragon lifted the concrete slab up. She jumped down the hole and crawled to the end of the tunnel, pausing as Crys stepped down and pulled the slab back over the hole. "We'll have to go fast," Varae said. "Or they'll realize something's up."

"Lead the way."

Nodding, Varae stood up, dug away more dirt away from the small hole created yesterday. She pulled herself up out of the hole, and stood outside the prison, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "I haven't smelled the fresh night air of Slomia in months!"

"That's nice, but might want to keep it down." Crys said, climbing out of the hole. "All right, we need to find Rocket and Groot before—"

A bright light suddenly glared over the two aliens. "Freeze!" A voice yelled out.

"Before we're caught." Crys deadpanned.

"Run!" Varae took off to the right. Crys followed close behind on all fours, looking around for Rocket and Groot.

Finally, she saw them run away from another hole by the prison. "You're just getting out?!" Crys exclaimed.

"I had to get my stuff!" Rocket snapped back, climbing onto Groot's shoulder. The Flora Colossus caught up to Crys and Varae.

Glancing behind them, the female Draalp saw a large group of Draalps trailing after them. "Good luck, guys!" She suddenly yelled, darting to the left, bellowing deeply and loudly. A portion of the Draalp army followed after her.

Crys stalled for a split-second in concern for her friend, but sped up again at the sight of the remaining Draalps and the sound of Rocket and Groot's yells. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"We're lookin' for a small ship to hijack." He answered, still on Groot's shoulder.

Crys searched around, spying an aircraft that wasn't being guarded. It wasn't as big as the CS Tesserae, but it would easily fit her, Rocket, and Groot. "How about that one?"

Rocket looked to where she was pointing, and saw a Draalp security aircraft. "Perfect!"

As soon as they reached it, Groot threw open the door. Rocket dove in, followed by Crys, and finally Groot jumped in.

Rocket was already at work, hacking into the ship's wiring. His hands flew, and he didn't glance back as the Draalp army came closer and closer. "Hurry, they're coming!" Crys cried.

"Give me a minute!" Rocket growled. Finally, the ship revved to life. Grinning, he grabbed the controls, and the ship took off into the sky, leaving some angry Draalps behind. "Let's agree to never come back to Slomia again?" He asked.

"At least until they forget about us." Crys nodded.

* * *

**A/N I know this update was very slow. My only excuse is writer's block, probably not good, but good enough for me.**

**The Draalp's methods of finding out a person's criminal record when they don't have one was made up by me.**

**Since Rocket said he and Groot escaped several prisons before the movie took place (23, I think he said?) I figured it might be a good idea to show one, especially with Crys's involvement. I had a tad bit of trouble coming up with an escape method because A) I've never been to prison, so I wouldn't know the first thing about escaping; B) I've never seen prison escape movies, to my knowledge; and C) I've never played The Escapists, nor was interesting in watching any YouTube Let's Plays of it. So, I figured the easiest was to go the old-fashioned way: digging out.**

**I feel the ending to this chapter was less than perfect, but I'm tired of leaving this story in the dust, so it'll have to do. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to upload. I want to get Crys into the movie as soon as possible, but I don't want to do a big time jump or drag it out for too long. I have to find the perfect medium (is that the correct term?)**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**xXTigress1776Xx: Thanks for the reviews XD Sorry for not responding to each individual one, it's late, and I need to do this fast. But I'm glad you like this so far.**

**The Rainbow Devowerer: They will ;) Three best friends; friendly friends (reference to a Pokemon game ;)) The movie actually comes into play in this chapter.**

**random gal: Yeah, she was. I kinda had fun writing her.**

**Thanks :) I don't think anyone's come up with this; plus, since it's alien technology, it can be that advanced. Better than a lie detector (unless one can have fake memories)**

**Ah, thanks :) I'm still learning writing, even after being on here for over four years, and I feel I've barely scratched the surface. Even though it's not likely I'll be a professional writer, I still like learning about writing further (that didn't make much sense XD) Okay, thanks :)**

* * *

Crys's eyes widened as she stared out the windows of the aircraft as it soared away from Slomia. The sky was dark, dark-blue, with vague purple smoke-like swirls, and thousands upon thousands of stars.

"Pretty, huh?" Rocket asked offhandedly.

"'Pretty'? It's beautiful!" She exclaimed. "I didn't think anything could be such a gorgeous sight. I could stare at it all day." Her ears tilted in thought and slight sadness. "I hope Varae's all right."

"I am Groot." **[I'm sure she's all right.]** He said kindly.

"So, Crys, Groot and I've been talking," Rocket said, still driving the aircraft. "And he's apparently taken a shine to you."

Crys smiled shyly. "Aw, that's sweet, Groot."

The Flora Colossus rubbed the back of his neck, smiling as well. "And despite your…necklace needs, you've kinda grown on me as well." Rocket continued. "And we…well, mostly Groot, were curious if, since you don't seem to have any plans-"

"All right."

The furry alien blinked in surprise. "'All right'? All right what?"

"If you two want me to accompany you so badly, I will." She grinned. "Besides, as you said, I have no plans of my own. And you both have grown on me."

"…Ah, okay. Great." Rocket nodded. "But we're both thieves, Groot and I. So, you'll have to learn to be sneaky and sly."

"Sneaky and sly, right. How does this thing work?"

Rocket glanced over his shoulder to see Crys staring up the end of his gun. "Hey! That ain't for playin' with!" He exclaimed, snatching it and placing it back on his back, where it originally was. "How'd you get it without me noticing?"

"Two things: the spear on my tail was taken off, and I was very bored on the Tesserae." The dragon explained, her tail tip twitching. "So, I had to entertain myself."

"Huh. Not bad." Rocket smirked. "Crys, with your tail tactics, Groot's strength, and my gun, I think we're gonna get rich someday."

* * *

_Five Years—and several crime jobs—later…_

Xandar. A planet some say could be considered an equal to Earth/Terra, depending on who's talking. Unlike Earth/Terra, Xandar is home to Xandarians, and many other species of aliens. While it is rare that Terrans visit or live in Xandar, it isn't unheard of either.

Xandar was also known for being part of a war with the Kree Empire, though a treaty had been signed. Xandar was ruled by Irani Rael, the Nova Prime, and peace was kept by the Nova Corps.

It was this planet that Rocket, Groot, and Crys were currently residing.

During the past five years with Rocket and Groot, Crys had learned a lot about being a thief and bounty hunter: you had to be sneaky, discrete, a good liar, and be very fast when running from anyone, including angry cops. Crys was able to be sneaky and discrete with her tail, and was very fast on both her legs and wings, but it took her a lot of practice to become a good liar. Her ice breath also came in handy during fights.

Crys felt that she also grew up from the scared newly-turned anthro dragon to a more mature, aware dragon. She was more aware of how the world worked outside of Drakonehm, and of other alien species. She was aware of how they could be either kind to a stranger they barely met, or kick you while you're down, and laugh about it as they do so. "It's a shitty world out there, Crys," Rocket once sighed. Crys was lying on Groot's legs, as he sat back against a wall, and Rocket himself was lying back against Crys's side and folded hind leg. "People might say they would give their earnings to the poor and help the unfortunate to their buddies, but when they're confronted with the situation, they'll always have second thoughts."

Crys's ears bent back, and her hands clenched her arms, which were crossed in front of her chest—this had become a habit ever since she began wearing her usekh. When she was young, she didn't think there was any evil in the world. Her young, immature mind couldn't comprehend it. But now that she had seen the world for what it was, she was having second thoughts.

Yes, she had stolen, murdered—though not intentionally at first—and escaped prison, but she had no other life. She had discarded her previous life when she attacked her colony in a fit of rage. She thrust herself into a new, scary world without knowing what to do in her new life and body. Rocket and Groot eventually offered a new life, and teachings of the world outside of Drakonehm, and she accepted, having nowhere else to go.

Now she had her arms crossed across her chest again, but this time she was standing up, leaning back against a building. Her hind claws occasionally tapped the concrete, and the tip of her tail twitched.

A green Terran-looking man stepped by her, freezing and glancing down at her usekh. His eyebrows shot up, and Crys could swear she saw money signs dance in front of his eyes. "Say, Ms. Dragon, that's an awful nice necklace."

"…Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, standing up fully and relaxing her arms.

The man faltered at the full height of the dragon—she was taller than some aliens, but not quite as tall as Groot—but smiled again, moving closer to her"It looks awful heavy. How about you accompany me to the pawn shop—"

Pawn shop. Unless that involved selling something she and her friends stole, those two words meant someone was trying to steal her usekh. Naturally, that was to be avoided, for her sake, Rocket and Groot's sake, and the sake of the surrounding community.

The longer the usekh remained around Crys's neck, the longer she remained in control of her wild side.

She grabbed the man's arm and tossed him to the ground. He grunted in surprise. She kicked him so he rolled away from her. "So sorry," She sniffed, tossing her head up. "But my usekh is _not_ for sale. It's nothing personal; I just don't make deals that concern mine and others' safety." She strolled away to the fountain in the center of the city, just overhearing Rocket exclaim happily, "Groot! Crys! We're gonna be rich!"

"All right, boys, what've we got?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"We just got a hot one! 'Peter Quill,' wanted by Yondu Udonta for 40,000 units!"

Crys whistled in amazement. "This Yondu must want this guy really badly."

Rocket glanced to the side and sighed, shaking his head. Crys looked to see Groot leaning over the fountain, drinking from it. "Groot…how many times do I gotta tell you: don't drink from the fountain!" Rocket yelled, smacking the Flora Colossus in the leg with his hologramic tablet, then checked it to see that it wasn't broken.

"Rocket, don't yell at Groot." Crys said sternly. She turned to Groot, who was smiling somewhat smugly. "Groot, don't drink the fountain water. You don't know what's in or has been in it."

Over the past few years of being with the unlikely duo, the dragon had become more than just their friend; she became something like a sisterly-figure. She and Rocket tended to butt heads like rivaling siblings, while Groot loved her like an older sibling looking to a younger one. Rocket often joked that the bigger alien liked Crys more than like a sibling. The only responses he would get were confused expressions from Crys, and either a glare or eye roll from Groot.

"All right, break's over." Rocket said, closing his tablet and putting it in his pocket. "This Quill guy's the chump with the red suit and cocky look. Let's get 'im. Groot, you got the sack, Crys, back me up. I got the fun part." He winked, cocking his gun.

* * *

**A/N Sorry for the late update. I haven't had much inspiration for this fanfic. But I had a big surge of inspiration for this one.**

**Hopefully I made it realistic for Crys joining Rocket and Groot. I figured Groot would definitely be for it (he's such a friendly and sweet guy :3) but Rocket's a harder nut to crack.**

**Sorry for the big jump cut. I didn't have any ideas for any adventures the trio would have between then and the movie. But I kinda made up for it by describing how Crys grew in wisdom and maturity. It's kinda parallel to a kid learning how the world works, though they probably wouldn't be thrust into it immediately until adulthood.**

**I feel kinda bad that my only inspiration for this fanfic was the movie starting. I've been writing a lot of fanfics where my characters are thrust into the canon movie, and I'm worried that a lot of people are tired of this. That's why A) I try not to jump immediately into the movie; B) I add the character's own moments, since they can't be in the whole movie the whole time; and C) I have some fiction writing before and after the movie. There was definitely some in the beginning for this. Maybe not so much after the movie, but definitely before.**

**Sorry if I don't make much sense, it's late, and I think I'm getting a bit sleepy. Hopefully the main chapter's fine.**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**random gal: Probably not XD (He DID try though, I agree with you on that)**

**The fanfics that go through the movie they're based on are all like this: I start out some time before the movie to introduce and characterize the main character (my OC) Plus, sometimes (like with my A Bug's Life fanfic, Toxic Wings) the story will go way past the end of the movie. Not sure if I'll be able to do that with this one, but we'll see I'd probably do a sequel (I have a couple of interesting ideas for a sequel or two, actually ;))**

**Yeah, I guess it is. As said, she's kind of like a sister to them; she makes sure Rocket isn't too harsh with Groot, and makes sure Groot doesn't get into too much trouble (his somewhat innocent and naive personality kinda makes it seem that he'd get into some trouble on his own) I think my favorite part of the last chapter when she scolded both Rocket and Groot**

* * *

Crys soon found herself leaping from rooftop to rooftop, scouring the sidewalk below for Peter Quill. Rocket said he saw him headed for the pawn shop, so she was going in that direction. However, as soon as she reached the pawn shop and looked down at the ground, she saw him running back in the direction she came from. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Crys jumped to the ground. Ignoring the gasps and cries of shock, she ran after Quill, who was pinned on his back by a green-skin, black-clothed woman with red-tipped black hair.

Crys screeched to a halt when Rocket leapt at the woman from the right side, pushing her off of Quill. Groot brushed past her, holding a large burlap sack. "Put 'im in the bag! Put 'im in the bag!" Rocket yelled.

Roots grew from Groot's back, arms, and sides as he took the sack in both hands, and grabbed the first person he saw: the woman. "No! Not her, _him_!" Rocket, who was still on her shoulders, snapped. "Learn genders, man."

Screaming in anger, the woman bit Rocket's fingers. He pulled his hand out with a pained yelp. "Biting? That's not fair!"

Crys looked to the side just in time to see Quill disappear. "Rocket! He's getting away!"

"Kinda busy here, Crys!" The furry alien said.

"Right." She turned and galloped after him, pushing past bystanders. Just as she caught sight of him, something whizzed past her face, startling her, and nicked him in the hand and making him drop a small silver orb.

Seeing him freeze, Crys leapt onto his back with a roar. They somersaulted a few times until she was on top of him. "Sorry, bub," She said, wrapping her claws around his shoulders. "Just business."

He elbowed her in the throat, making her choke in surprise, and then backhanded her in the nose. She yelped and jumped back, as one of the most vulnerable spots on a dragon was their soft, fleshy noses. And this Terran hit her hard enough to make her bleed.

Shaking her head, and sending spatters of blood around her, Crys narrowed her eyes as she saw Quill jump off of the bridge they were on. She jumped down, just barely landing on Groot. She turned in surprise, but stayed silent as he held up a finger in front of his lips.

As the green-skinned woman, who had attacked Quill again, somehow flew into a nearby fountain, Crys grabbed the burlap sack, and she and Groot pulled it over Quill, finally catching him. "What the—!" He yelled, muffled, as Groot grabbed the mouth of the sack and slung it over his shoulder, exchanging a grin with Crys.

"Quit smiling, you idiots," Rocket huffed, standing in front of them. "You're supposed to be professionals."

"I am Groot?" **[What happened to your nose?]**

"Let's just say that Terran is tougher than he looks." She answered, wiping away more blood with the back of her wrist.

"You gotta be kidding me." Rocket deadpanned in front of them.

Crys and Groot looked to see Rocket get shoved aside by the green-skinned woman, who was carrying a long sword now. She sliced at the sack, making Groot drop it in surprise. Crys grabbed it again, then turned to see both of Groot's arms get sliced off. Then, the woman hit him in the lower stomach with the sword, making him groan in more pain.

Narrowing her eyes, she dropped the bag and attacked the woman with an angry roar, making her drop the sword. Just as Crys had her claws around the woman's throat, Quill poked his head out of the bag and shocked the woman with a sort of electrifying gun, which in turn electrified Crys as well. They both cried out and writhed in pain on the sidewalk at Groot's feet. Then, they both lay limp as the blue sparks of electricity wore off.

Paying no attention to Quill, who had kicked the bag away and was running again, Groot looked down at Crys. Despite the blood still leaking from her nostrils, and the occasional twitch, she was out cold.

He nudged her, and the limp arm she was laying on, with his foot, whimpering. "It'll grow back, you d'ast idiot." Rocket said. "And she'll be fine. Quit whining."

Then, he, Groot, and Crys were bathed in several beams of bright, yellow lights, and all three were lifted off of the ground. Crys's head, shoulders, and wings hung limp. The light beams came from several star-shaped aircrafts surrounding the small group. "Subject 89P13, drop your weapon." A voice from one of the aircrafts demanded.

"Aw, crap." Rocket muttered, releasing his hold on his gun. It clattered to the ground below him.

"By the authority of the Nova Corps, you are under arrest, for endangerment to life, and the destruction of property."

"Fascists." The furry alien huffed as the beams picked up the still-unconscious green-skinned woman on Crys's left.

* * *

Crys finally regained consciousness after what felt like a few seconds. Moaning, she shook her head and twitched her nose, hissing in pain. "What the hell happened?" She muttered. Looking up, she saw she was held up, by her shoulders, by two Nova Corps officers. "…Aw, crap." She muttered realizing she, Rocket, and Groot were captured.

In the other room, a Nova Corps officer by the name of Rhomann Dey was presenting the captured criminals to a higher-rank officer, Garthan Saal. First was the green-skinned woman, who turned out to be Gamora, an infamous assassin, and adopted daughter of Thanos, an evil Titan. Next was Rocket, and then Groot.

Finally, Crys was shoved into the room. She crossed her arms and frowned at the watching officers, as holograms regarding her past crimes, the effect her usekh had on her, and other little pieces of information about her, were displayed in front of the glass.

"A dragon from Drakonehm: Crystal, or as she calls herself, Crys." Rey read. "An Ignis-born with Glaciem powers. She killed most of her clan, and stole an ancient treasure, before leaving Drakonehm. She now travels with 89P13 and Groot as more personal muscle, as well as flight power. This also says the necklace must be kept around her neck at all times."

"_Usekh._" Crys growled, her left ear twitching in irritation. Between getting a bloody nose, being electrified, and getting caught by law enforcement in the span of several hours, she was having a bad day. She was more irritated by people calling her usekh a necklace than she usually was, which was not often to begin with.

Finally, Star-Lord, aka Peter J. Quill, was identified. "What a bunch of a-holes." Saal sneered. "Transport all five to the Kyln."

* * *

**A/N Not much to this one, but it's been a couple of weeks or so since the last update, so I wanted to post something. Besides, I like the ending of the chapter (for once XD)**

**It was kind of tricky to find a happy medium with Crys: I didn't want her to "jump into battle" and change too much, but I didn't want her to sit around and do nothing either. I'm pretty happy with what I came up with though.**

**I came up with the concept that dragons' noses are one of their weak points on the spot. A lot of animals have soft noses, and noses tend to be injured easily if hit right (luckily, I've only had nose bleeds unrelated to getting hit, and I've never had my nose broken) So, unless she gets something that'll protect her nose, Crys at least has a weak point (I try not to make my characters too powerful, but not too weak at the same time)**

**As shown, Crys is quite protective of Groot. She's protective of Rocket too, but not as much as our favorite tree. This is because, as I stated earlier, Groot just has an innocent and somewhat-naive personality, making it seem like he's not very strong. Crys knows he's more powerful than he looks, but that doesn't stop her from getting angry when someone hurts her. Sometimes, though, that can get her into trouble.**

**A couple of interesting facts about the Nova Corps. officers: Rhomann Dey (the one who caught Star-Lord) was played by John C. Reilly, who played Wreck-it-Ralph in the movie of the same name (I actually haven't seen it yet, though I know it's very video game-themed, and has some video game character appearances [like Bowser; I specifically mentioned him because I've been watching a lot of Mario game Let's Plays on Youtube, and as such have been in a "Mario Mood"]) and Garthan Saal (the one who called the guardians a-holes) did the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars 1. Not sure if anyone knows these facts (probably the first at least) I just thought they were interesting.**

**I had fun creating Crys's "criminal bio" If you noticed, I've been keeping her ice powers under the cap, so to speak; this is because I'm waiting until later in the "movie" to reveal her ice breath. That means if she were in the film, her ice breath would be a mystery until later (during the guardians' stay at Kyln, at least) I just thought it'd be neat.**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**NightWolf1159: Thanks :D I didn't know that. I've heard about 9, but not about The Vampire's Assistant.**

**random gal: He didn't play the character, he just did the voicing. I can't remember who played Darth Maul in body though. But it's still cool.**

**It won't be too spectacular of a scene, just a passing comment or two.**

**To be fair, she didn't lift the bag off of the ground; she just grabbed the mouth of the sack XD**

**TooShortToReachTheCookieJar: I never really thought about voices for other OCs in this story (just Crys, whom I imagine being voiced by Cree Summers [she played Kida in Disney's Atlantis]) but that actually DOES fit her mother.**

* * *

After a trip in a Nova Corps spaceship that took several hours, the five prisoners were escorted into The Kyln, a prison that housed some of the most dangerous criminals of the galaxy. Gamora, Crys, Rocket, Quill, and Groot all had indestructible handcuffs with small blue glowing orbs around their wrists, and a prison guard was in front of and behind the group.

"I guess most of Nova Corps wanna uphold the laws," Rocket remarked as they were all marched through the prison. "But these ones here, they're corrupt and cruel."

_But just __how__ cruel, is the question. And in what way?_ Crys pondered wisely. She had been in two prisons already, though the first one could be thought of as a prisoner to the ones in cages. That was already torture enough in that the prison on Slomia wasn't so bad.

But how cruel was The Kyln, and in what way, indeed?

"But hey," Rocket chuckled. "That's not my problem. I ain't gonna be here long. I've escaped twenty-two prisons. This one's no different." He bragged with a smug smile, glancing back at Quill as he continued, "You're lucky the broad showed up, 'cause otherwise, me, Groot, and Crys would be collecting that bounty right now, and _you'd_ be getting drawn and quartered by Yondu and those Ravagers."

Rocket had told Crys, before attempting to capture Quill, about Yondu, the leader of the Ravagers. He told her that they were a band of intergalactic mercenaries and thieves, with a reputation for stealing anything they wanted solely for their own benefits. Yondu Udonta, the leader, was known for killing anyone who got in his way, mainly with a whistle-controlled arrow.

"I've had a lot of folks try to kill me over the years." Quill said, exasperated. "I ain't about to be brought down by a tree, a dragon, and a talking raccoon."

"Hold." The prison guard in front said, meaning everyone should stop.

"What's a raccoon?" Rocket asked, cocking his head slightly. Crys glanced over her shoulder, confused as well, having never heard that word before either.

"'What's a raccoon?' It's what _you_ are, stupid!" Quill snapped.

"Ain't no thing like me, except me!" Rocket declared proudly, jabbing his thumbs at his chest.

The group carried on again. "So, this orb has a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe." Quill said to Gamora's back. "What is it?"

"I am Groot." The mentioned-tree said. Crys smiled at Groot's need to introduce himself. She half-wondered if it was a cover-up for not knowing what the orb was.

"So what?" Quill snapped rudely, making the dragon growl in irritation at the Terren. He raised his handcuffed hands, eyebrows raised, and then asked again, "What's the orb?"

"I have no words for an honorless thief." Gamora sniffed.

"Pretty high and mighty coming from a lackey of a genocidal maniac." Rocket remarked.

Gamora glanced back at him. "Yeah, I know who you are." He nodded. "Anyone who's anyone knows who _you_ are."

Crys wrinkled her still-sore nose, deciding not to point out that she still didn't know who Gamora is, aside from what the furry alien just said. Having lived on a mainly-wild planet for her whole life until adulthood, she had very little knowledge about the outside galaxy and its range of criminals, save for snippets she heard or was told.

"Yeah, we know who you are." Quill nodded, only to then turn to Groot and ask, "Who is she?"

"I am Groot." **[A very famed assassin.]**

"Yeah, you said that."

"No, he didn't." Crys shook her head, glancing back and snickering at Quill's confused expression.

"I wasn't retrieving the orb for Ronan," Gamora said as the group paused again. "I was betraying him. I had an agreement to sell it to a third party."

"'Third party?' What third party?" Crys couldn't help wondering out loud as they moved onward again.

"I am Groot." **[Good question.]**

"Well, that's just as fascinating as the first eighty-nine times you told me that." Quill huffed. "What is wrong with Giving Tree here?"

"Well, he don't know talking good like me and you." Rocket said. "So his vocabulistics is limited to "I" and "am" and "Groot"...exclusively in that order."

"Don't listen to him." Crys rolled her eyes. "You just don't understand Groot like Rocket and I can. He's simply speaking in a different language. You only hear it as him introducing himself."

"Well I tell you what, that's gonna wear real thin, real fast." The Terren said. "If I—hey. Put that away." Quill shoved his way into a room, where a blue Kyln guard was going through his stuff. He put some sort of earmuffs on his head; Crys could faintly hear something coming from the earmuffs.

"You son of a—hey! Listen to me, you big blue bastard. Take those headphones off!" Quill continued to yell. "That's mine. Those belong to impound. That tape and that player is mine!"

The guard jumped up, and with a yell, poked Quill with a stun-rod, zapping him with blue electricity. Quill screamed in pain and collapsed on his knees. In the commotion, the headphones were unhooked from a box, and sounds unfamiliar to Crys began playing.

Quill straightened his back and managed to groan, "_Hooked on a Feeling_, Blue Swede, 1973. That song belongs to me!"

The guard zapped Quill again, making him fall to the ground completely, as the others watched in astonishment, flinching at each strike. Crys, however, was somewhat distracted by the sounds and voices coming from the box. She cocked her head in confusion as the guard was stopped before Quill was killed, and the Terran was shoved back in line, panting in pain and anger. "What were those sounds coming from the box?" She asked.

"It's called music, stupid." He said.

"…Music?"

"What, you don't know what music is?"

"I am Groot." **[She was once a wild animal.]** Groot defended his friend.

Before Quill could complain, Rocket translated, "Crys was originally a wild animal. It was only a few years ago that she became part of 'civilized society.' Since Drackonehm didn't have music, she don't know what it is."

Quill simply grunted in acknowledgement.

* * *

Crys was shoved into a large slightly-caged area. As she looked around, confused, orange water was blasted into her chest, slamming her back against the gate she just entered. Once she was drenched, she was pushed into another room, one that had yellow prison clothing, and benches.

Spitting the bitter-tasting liquid out of her mouth and snorting it out of her nose, she stood on all fours and shook herself off. As she wiggled her fingers in her ears, Gamora came in, quickly toweling herself dry, grabbing some prison clothes and pulling them on. She too was dripping with orange liquid.

Crys fingered the clothes curiously as Gamora tied her hair in a loose braid. Shrugging, Crys tossed the clothes back. Because she had a tail, and her wing membranes connected from her armpits to her hips, she wouldn't be able to wear the clothing.

Finally, the two females were able to exit the room, meeting up with the three other prisoners. Quill and Rocket were wearing the yellow prison clothing, and they, including Groot, were damp and slightly orange. No words were exchanged as they walked further down a small hallway, and were handed rolled-up bags.

Soon, they were in the main part of the prison, which was filled with yellow-clothed prisoners of all species, colors, and sizes, males and females alike.

* * *

**A/N FINALLY GOT THIS UPDATED! I am SO SORRY I abandoned this story, as well as my Grinch one, for so long D: Let me explain: firstly, I had some writer's block (as usual) But I also joined a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon group on DeviantART, which was about story-telling and art drawing, taking a lot of my writing time. And now there's this Pokemon/Animal Crossing hybrid group, that's still a WIP, that I'm thinking about joining, which is about art and roleplaying (I'd have to learn how to roleplay :P) Luckily, I found time to actually write this chapter. It's a bit short, but I feel this is a good stopping point, and I want to get at least one chapter out so people don't think I abandoned this story. I want to see it to the end, it just might be slow. Thank you all for your patience, and again, I'm sorry it took so long to update. I'll try and get a chapter done for my Grinch story; I just updated this one first because this seems to be the more popular and higher-anticipated one between the two.**

**Someone by the name of raphlav18 private messaged me a website (MovieQuotesandMore) that had the script for Guardians of the Galaxy. Again, thanks so much for linking me to the site :D I'll still need the DVD for some action scenes (which I have) but the script is still awesome for writing down the quotes. It really helps me with the story.**

**One of the hardest things about this story is actually trying to "translate" Groot-speak. So far, I haven't found anyone's theories on what he says in the movie, so I just try and think of what he might be saying. Sometimes it's easy (like when Peter asked him who Gamora is, I assume he said she was an assassin) while other times, like when he first spoke in this chapter, it could be anything from him asking what Peter was talking about to him simply introducing himself (which was what I went with) If you guys have any more logical theories (just what Groot might have said when Peter first asked what the orb was) just tell me, and I might tweak this chapter a bit.**

**Since Crys was originally a wild animal (in the wild, despite what Disney will have you think, there's no music; as in instruments) and Rocket might not like stopping to listen to concerts and whatnot, she's never heard music or singing. That's why she was so confused to hear music coming from Peter's Walkman (am I the only one who thinks of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air's theme song when I hear/see the word "Walkman"? I've never see the show, but I know the song)**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**raphlav18: I've never seen any of the GI Joe movies, so I wouldn't know who's who in that movie XD**

**random gal: And busy it still is, in addition to the writer's block.**

**I seriously did not know that. That is so cool! As far as I know, neither the regular nor Blu-Ray DVD for the movie has something in relation to that in the special features; maybe Behind-the-Scenes? Definitely. It's not like he was speaking in a monotone voice; the "I am Groot"s had tenses, and sounded like he was asking something (I'm not sure what the term for that is; tenses for all I know XD) It's kind of like if a dog in a movie was able to sort of show what he was thinking by the way he barks or whines.**

**WE'VE BEEN LIED TO! WHY, DISNEY? WHYYYY?! I felt it wouldn't make too much sense for Crys to know what music is.**

**reish95: It's like the ultimate crossover XD Gotta love classic arguing-sibling relationships :D**

**HermioneX: Thanks :)**

* * *

The main prison area had hundreds of yellow-clothed prisoners, all of different species, colors, and sizes, males and females alike. Some were talking; others were sitting around showing off or exercising, while others simply sat in place and stared. There were several levels in the prison, with a large observatory in the middle, and tables scattered around the area.

As soon as they stepped in, prisoners everywhere, on the round and on small bridges, began throwing food and insults and threats to the group. More specifically, to Gamora. "You first! You first!"

"Murderer!"

"Coming for you first, Gamora!"

"You're dead!"

"You're scum! You're scum!"

Gamora said nothing back to the insults, though she did flinch at the objects thrown at her.

"It's like I said," Rocket shrugged over the shouting. "She's got a rep. A lot of prisoners here have lost their families to Ronana and his goons. She'll last a day, tops."

"Murderer!"

"The guards will protect her, right?" Quill asked.

"They're here to stop us from getting out." Rocket pointed out. "They don't care what we do to each other inside."

"It's probably beneficial to the guards if us prisoners kill each other." Crys remarked, shaking her head as a piece of food skidded past her horns. "Less of us to guard."

Groot and Rocket grunted in agreement. "Whatever nightmares the future holds, are _dreams_ compared to what's behind me." Gamora said, chin held up high.

Quill, who had glanced over his shoulder, looked back ahead to see a large blue alien in front of him. "Check out the new meat." He leered, looking down at Quill.

Squealing softly, Crys darted behind Groot, eyeing the blue alien with frightened eyes. "I'm gonna slather you up in Gunavian jelly," He grinned, running a finger down Quill's face, who cringed.

Suddenly, Groot brushed past Quill and shoved two branches in his arm up the alien's nostrils. The branches grew out, actually lifting the blue alien off of his feet. He cried out in pain, clutching Groot's wrist.

"Let's make somethin' clear:" Rocket yelled, standing next to Groot. Crys stood tall next to them, glaring at the inmates. "This one here's _our_ booty! You wanna get to him, you go through us…or, more accurately, we go through _you_!"

To emphasize this, Groot shoved the roots deeper into the inmate's nose, and the dropped him to the ground. The blue alien curled up, clutching his nose and whimpering. Rocket, Groot, and Crys sauntered away, the latter two stepping over the inmate.

"…I'm with them." Quill said quickly, trailing after them.

Crys turned to go to the women's cells, and happened to spot Gamora in front of her, being trailed by several inmates, who continued to hurl abuse and threats to her. She wordlessly stepped into her cell, which closed shut. She sat on the bench, jumping only when one of the inmates pounded their fist against the glass.

Narrowing her eyes, Crys approached the inmates, growling loudly. Some inmates glared at her, while others scampered away; in the end, all of them dispersed.

Crys looked into the cell at Gamora, and tapped on the glass with a claw. She glared swiftly in her direction, though it softened when she saw it was only the dragon. "What do you want?" She asked sharply.

Even though the glass muffled speech, Crys heard her. "May I come in?" She asked.

Raising an eyebrow, Gamora stood up and pressed a button on the opposite wall. The glass slid back up. Glancing around, Crys stepped in, allowing the glass to slide down again behind her.

"Again, what do you want?" The green-skinned woman asked, sitting down. "Why did you chase them away? I heard you growling at them."

"Let's just say I don't like it when people are hounded like that." Crys shrugged, examining her cone-shaped claws. "I know how it feels to be backed into an enclosed space by monsters…or one giant monster, rather."

"What do you mean?"

"I was different from my clan, and different was bad. If my mother wasn't so merciful, and my father knew self-restraint…more or less, I wouldn't be here." Crys explained bluntly. "Like I said, I was different from my clan."

"If you're looking for sympathy—"

"I'm not." The dragon said sternly, furrowing her eyebrows. "I'm merely sharing part of my life story. It's not to gain sympathy; it's to explain my actions."

"You _do_ realize I am a highly-wanted assassin, who's killed multiple people and destroyed many families' lives?"

"You never attacked mine, so I haven't a reason to hate you." Crys shrugged.

"Except that I could kill you at any time." Gamora threatened.

"Would you? I may be about your size, but I used to be a huge dragon, made of nothing but bones and muscles. I'm still very strong, and agile. If I were to remove this," She tapped her claws on the biggest purple diamond on her usekh. "You wouldn't stand a chance against me. Trust me."

"…It helps to have one ally in this hellhole, I guess." Gamora smirked, standing again. "What do they call you?"

"Crys." She said, smirking as well.

* * *

**A/N I really don't like how the chapter ended, but I was running out of ideas (I'm barely crawling out of writer's block as is) Hopefully it doesn't seem too abrupt. It's just been a month since the last update, and I really want to update this soon. Thanks for being patient :)**

**So apparently the blue guy who was lifted up by his nostrils (looked really painful, BTW X() was from the TV show Firefly. I think he was one of the main cast, but I can't quite remember. I never watched Firefly, but my parents really like the show. Also, he (blue nose guy) looked pretty big and bulky, which was why Crys flinched.**

**I feel that Crys would know how it feels to be harassed because you did something/are different in a bad way. Plus, she also probably wants to make a female friend. I really hope Gamora isn't too OOC (that's one of my biggest writing fears: writing someone too OOC. I always worry that when I write about a canon character, they're too out of character, which is what OOC means for anyone who doesn't know) And like I said, the ending seemed a bit abrupt, but I wanted to get this out.**

**In the next chapter, Gamora's life is threatened, and we meet Drax, who I think is an entertaining character. Hopefully writing will go better in that chapter.**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**raphlav18: That's what my mom told me, though I forgot if he was a main character or a crew member; I just remembered he was from the show.**

**Since Crys has only been around males, I figured she'd want to make a female friend, even if this one is an assassin that she may very well never see again...maybe.**

**Guest: Thanks :) Not really much, but hopefully it's interesting.**

**The JohnLocked Whovian: I'll admit, I laughed when I saw your review XD I always think it's really cool when a movie I'm watching has someone I know from another movie/TV show (even though I've never seen Firefly) And I've actually never seen/read the Percy Jackson movies/books.**

**random gal: I caught that; thanks :) Kinda embarrassed that I make mistakes like that ^^;**

**Thanks :) Like I said, Crys and Drax don't interact much, but hopefully what I wrote is interesting.**

**Nezzux: I'm sorry, but I've never played D&amp;D, seen The Fox and the Hound 2, nor do I plan on playing/seeing them. As such, I don't plan on writing a fanfic about them.**

**universalshippingdock: Thanks :)**

* * *

The Kyln's sleeping arrangements weren't what most people imagine. Usually, prisons would have metal frame beds, or even bunk beds. At the Kyln, however, all of the male prisoners slept in one room on top of each other like animals in a pile; it was the same with the female prisoners, though they tried to keep away from each other more than the males.

Crys was lying against the wall of the sleeping room on her stomach, with her legs folded under her, and her arms crossed in front of her chest. But soon, she was awoken by a struggle. She lazily opened her eyes, blinking away the sleep, and yawned widely. She heard talking, but couldn't quite understand what the male was saying. Then, she heard angry yells; Gamora's angry yells. And they were fading, as if she was being dragged away.

Crys's ears perked up in shock. She quickly stood up, shaking her head as her vision spun from standing up too fast, and followed the groans in the shadows. She was so concentrating on finding them that she jumped in surprise when she bumped into someone. "Crys?"

"Quill?" Crys whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Didn't you see those two guys dragging Gamora?"

"Yes, I did."

"Three guesses what they're gonna do to her."

Crys and Quill snuck down the hallway, ignoring Rocket softly calling out to them from behind, and found Gamora and three male inmates. They were pinning her against the wall, and they were all aiming knives to her throat. "Gamora, consider this a death sentence for your crimes against the galaxy." One announced, grinning madly.

"Who is _he_ to decide whom to execute when he's in one of the biggest prisons in the galaxy?" Crys scoffed. "Especially when he seems he isn't a model citizen himself."

Quill smirked in return. But before any of them could interfere, a deep voice snapped, "You dare?"

Everyone turned to the voice. Out of the shadows came a tall, buff man, with green-blue skin, red tattoos spider webbed across his body and bald head. He only wore yellow prison pants.

As soon as he stepped out of the shadows, Crys froze in fear, staring at the man. "You know who I am, yes?"

She nearly said no before realizing he was talking to the three inmates. "You're Drax…the Destroyer." The one who had spoken before said fearfully.

"Quill! Crys!" Rocket hissed, finally catching up to them; neither of them payed any attention to him.

"And you know why they call me this?" Drax asked, still slowly walking to the inmates.

"You slayed dozens of Ronan's minions." The man who had spoken before continued.

"Ronan murdered my wife, Ovette, and my daughter, Camaria. He slaughtered them where they stood…and he _laughed_!" Drax roared in anger.

Crys and Quill flinched at the yell, the former more so than the latter. Even though she was scared of this man, the dragon couldn't help feeling a touch of pity for him.

"Her life is not yours to take." The man said calmly, as if he hadn't shouted before. "He killed my family; I shall kill one of his in return."

"Of course, Drax." The inmate nodded timidly, holding out the knife he had previously pressed against Gamora's throat to Drax.

As he took the knife, Gamora suddenly kicked out at the two other men, taking their weapons and incapacitated them. Then, she held the knives to the other inmate and Drax's necks.

Quill began creeping towards them. "Quill! What are you doing?!" Rocket whispered, reaching out to grab Quill's pants, only to be slapped away.

"Quill, wait!" Crys muttered. "That's a really big guy."

"I'm no family to Ronan, _or_ Thanos." Gamora said coldly.

The inmate was craning his neck back, nervously trying to avoid the knife. Drax simply stood up straight, staring down past his nose at the green-skinned woman. She stepped back and dropped both weapons. "I'm your only hope at stopping him."

Roaring, Drax grabbed her by the neck in a tight grip and aimed the knife at her. "Woman, your words mean nothing to me!"

Finally, Quill stepped out, shouting, "Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Hey!"

"Oh, crap." Rocket grumbled.

"Oh, dear." Crys gulped.

"Y'know, if killing Ronan is truly your sole purpose, I don't think this is the best way to go about it." Quill said.

"Are you not the man this wench attempted to kill?" Drax asked, clenching Gamora's neck tighter.

"Well, I mean, she's hardly the first woman to try and do that to me." Quill shrugged. Then, he began showing various scars and explaining where he got them from: various women he had met, bedded with, and got attacked afterwards.

Crys glanced at Rocket, both cocking an eyebrow. Then, they glanced back at Quill, who figured out that Drax didn't care at all about his stories. "Here's the point: she betrayed Ronan. He's coming back for her. And when he does, that's when you," He dragged a finger across his throat.

Instead of understanding, Drax asked in confusion, "Why would I put my finger on his throat?"

"What?" Quill furrowed his eyebrows. Even Crys, who was still afraid of this inmate, didn't know whether to laugh or continue to hold her tongue.

Quill then realized Drax was confused about the metaphor. "Oh, no, it's is a symbol," He explained, doing the motion again. "It's a symbol for you slicing his throat."

"I would not slice his throat; I would cut his head clean off."

"It's a general expression for you killing somebody. You've heard of this, you've seen this, right?" He asked the inmate. "You know what that is?"

"Yeah, yeah." The inmate nodded, only to deny it when Drax glanced at him.

Rolling his eyes, Quill said, "What I'm saying is, you want to keep her alive. Don't do his work for him."

"He's crazy." Crys muttered, as Drax looked at Gamora, who was now clinging to his wrist, gasping for breath.

Finally, he dropped her to the ground. As she bent over, coughing, he looked down at the knife the inmate had given him. "I like your knife. I'm keeping it." He said bluntly, turning and leaving abruptly.

"That was my favorite knife." The inmate muttered.

Drax stepped past Crys, who backed away a step. As he glanced at her, she spread her wings and pinned back her ears, trying not to look scared. In the past years, her fear of large men had slowly diminished—especially since she had been traveling with Rocket and Groot—but Drax's angry and bloodthirsty behavior made Crys nervous. Even with her claws, teeth, and ice breath, he had a sharp knife, and seemed experienced with killing, if what the inmate said was true.

Curling his lip in what looked like disgust, he continued back to the prison cells.

Sighing, Crys relaxed and hurried to Gamora, who was standing and pushing Quill away, refusing his offer to help her up. "Are you all right?"

"Thanks so much for helping me!" She snapped. "I thought you were my ally!"

Pinning her ears back in embarrassment, and slight anger, Crys retorted, "Not that you would know, or care, but I have a very unfortunate and frightening history with a large, muscular male that shook me to the core as a child."

"You were taller than him." Gamora scoffed, pushing her aside to go back to her cell.

"…He had a knife."

Quill patted Crys on the shoulder as they, including Rocket, followed Gamora.

* * *

**A/N Sorry this hasn't been updated for a long time. I've had writer's block, and was busy with several things; including attending Indy Pop Con last Saturday. It was really awesome; especially since I got to see Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Lordminion777, and muyskerm, which was the best part of the con tops! I was only able to watch their panel; I wasn't able to get their autographs or meet them because the lines had been cut off right as we got there (which was noonish, I think) and the people that were already in line had waited for five hours to see them. No one was at fault; it was originally going to be a small convention, until people found out that these YouTube celebrities were going there, which more than doubled, at least, the number of attendees. It was just awesome enough to see them in the flesh; hopefully I'll get another chance next year :)**

**I'm not sure if the "sleeping arrangements" are the same for the women prisoners as it is for the males; I'm just gonna assume they are, since the guards already don't care about the prisoners' safety. As Rocket said, they're only there to keep the prisoners inside.**

**Like I said, Crys doesn't really interact much with Drax, if at all. Maybe later in the story, when they're all on the same ship, it'll be different. I definitely will develop their relationship so they at least tolerate each other, but that's not until much later.**

**Not much to this chapter (I seem to have a habit of writing small chapters; at least, what I perceive to be small chapters) but I really wanted to get something out. Luckily, the only next big thing that will happen will be seeing Jurassic World after the Fourth of July (my mom wants to avoid the crowds) Star Lord taming raptors? Hell yeah! :D**

**EDIT: Due to someone pointing out that Crys's fear seemed "irrational," I made a few changes to that particular, and explained her fear a bit. I'm not upset or bothered by this review, but I DID feel that I made her a little too fearful. I think working with Rocket and Groot, she did indeed become "braver," but Drax will make her nervous, since he looks and sounds intimidating. I don't claim to be an expert in writing or psychology, so I'm definitely not accurate when it comes to fears like that. Hopefully this won't make the fanfic any less enjoyable.**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**Nezzux: Sorry, haven't seen them.**

**aandm20: I'm sorry you feel that way. I DID go back and tweak that part a bit, since I feel you did make a point about Crys's fear.**

**random gal: I wasn't quite sure if that was a sleeping quarter or something. And I didn't really feel like analyzing it too close, so I just decided females got the same sleeping treatment as males.**

**I definitely feel that event in her life definitely scarred her for life, regardless of how brave she becomes later in life in terms with that fear, if that makes sense. But there's always gonna be a slight bit of fear, whether or not she shows it. I went ahead and tweaked it so she reacts like real-life animals would react in fear: make herself appear bigger, and growl. Even though she can speak English, and behaves still somewhat humanly, she's still an animal deep down.**

**KHandFF7fanforever: We'll have to see ;)**

* * *

"Listen, I could care _less_ whether you live or die!" Quill exclaimed as he, Rocket, and Crys tailed after Gamora.

"Then why stop the big guy?" Gamora asked huffily.

"Simple: you know where to sell my orb."

"_Your_ orb?" Crys snorted.

"Yeah, my orb. I found it." Quill said arrogantly.

"And yet you don't know what to do with it."

Ignoring Crys, Gamora asked, "How are we gonna sell it when we, and it, are still here?"

"My friend Rocket, here, has escaped twenty-two prisons."

"Oh, we're getting out." Rocket smirked proudly. Then, he turned to Quill and said to him, "And then we're headed straight to Yondu to retrieve your bounty."

"According to him, you're worth 40,000 units." Crys added.

Narrowing his eyes at them, Quill asked Gamora, "How much was your buyer willing to pay you for my orb?"

"…Four billion units."

"What?!" Rocket shouted.

"Holy shit!" Quill exclaimed.

"That's _much_ more than what Yondu wanted for Quill." Crys's eyes widened.

"That orb is my opportunity to get away from Thanos and Ronan." Gamora continued. "If you free us, I'll lead you to the buyer directly, and I'll split the profit between the four of us."

"I am Groot." **[Five of us.]** A voice corrected.

Turning to the side, the four of them saw Groot was awake, and watching them between the bars of the male sleeping ward. "Five of us." Rocket sighed. "Asleep for the danger, awake for the money, as per frickin' usual."

"Morning, Sleepyhead." Crys chuckled, tapping his nose with a claw. "Tomorrow, we're getting outta this shithole."

* * *

The next morning, Rocket, Groot, Crys, Quill, and Gamora walked into the cafeteria, taking their trays of disgusting-looking food. Crys curled her lip at the food, wondering if it was edible or poisonous. "Why is it they give us such questionable food in prisons?"

"Probably want to poison us, so they don't have to guard us." Quill replied.

"…You may have a point."

"If we're gonna get outta here, we're gonna need to get into that watchtower." Rocket said, pointing at a large, tall, round watchtower in the middle of the cafeteria. A man could be seen inside, looking over the prisoners with a bored expression. "And to do that, I'm gonna need a few things."

"Like what?" Crys asked, poking at her food with a claw.

"For one, the guards wear security bands to control their ins and outs. I need one."

On an upper floor, a guard tapped at buttons on his wrist, and a door in front of him opened. "Leave it to me." Gamora nodded once.

"That dude, there," Rocket continued, gesturing at another prisoner carrying a food tray. One of his legs was a prosthetic one, which Rocket said he needed.

"His leg?" Quill asked, incredulously.

"Yeah. God knows I don't need the rest of him. Look at him, he's useless." He scoffed.

Crys twisted her mouth, trying not to laugh. Groot had once told her that when they did escapes in the past, Rocket would request an outlandish item, only to say he only asked for it because he thought it would be funny. She decided it would be wise to not tell Quill about this.

"Alright." The man shrugged.

"And finally, on the wall back there is a black panel. Blinky yellow light. See it?"

Quill and Crys turned to the watchtower, and both spotted what Rocket was describing. When they nodded in confirmation, and as they sat down, he continued, "There's a quarnyx battery behind it. Purplish box, green wires. To get into that watchtower, I definitely need it."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Gamora asked. No one had noticed Groot started to wander off.

"Well, supposedly, these bald-bodies find you attractive. So, maybe you can work out some sort of trade." Rocket suggested offhandedly.

"You must be joking." Crys rolled her eyes, heavily.

"No, I really heard they find her attractive."

"Look, it's twenty feet up in the air, and in the middle of the most heavily-guarded part of the prison." Quill pointed out.

"I'd probably be able to fly up there, no problem." Crys said, shoving her food away after tasting a lick.

"It'd be impossible to do that without someone seeing you."

"I got one plan," Rocket said, irritably. "And that plan requires a frickin' quarynx battery, so figure it out!"

Suddenly, there was a sound like something being thrown and hitting something. Someone cried out in pain. Crys perked her ears up and looked towards the sound. Groot was standing by the watchtower, with his legs and left arm stretched, and was reaching into the panel Rocket had described.

Drax was standing nearby, also watching. When he turned and made eye contact with Crys, she flinched and turned back as Rocket continued, "Now, this is important: once the battery is removed, everything is gonna slam into emergency mode. Once we have it, we gotta move quickly, so you definitely need to get that last."

Remembering what Groot was doing, Crys's eyes widened, and she stammered, "Yeah, a-about that—"

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud noise, like a spaceship activating. Then, the lights dimmed, and an alarm began blaring.

Everyone glanced up, and then turned to see Groot, who was standing among scurrying prisoners, holding the battery proudly.

"…Or we could just get it first and improvise." Rocket said with a shake of his head.

"I'll get the armband." Gamora said, jumping up.

"Leg." Quill left as well.

"That was a good thought, Groot." Crys said to her friend, trotting over to him. Behind her, Rocket pressed the heels of his hands against his eyebrows, groaning in frustration.

* * *

**A/N I was gonna continue on further, but A) I wanted to get a new chapter out, and B) I felt this was a good stopping point.**

**I did the math, and the Orb is worth 1,000,000 exactly what Quill was worth, which I found pretty interesting. Considering what the Orb REALLY is, I wouldn't doubt it. I also wouldn't doubt that had Yondu knew what it was in the first place, he would have gotten it himself so Quill wouldn't try and steal it (then again, we wouldn't have gotten the movie plot)**

**So, in the next chapter, we'll see the battle at the prison, get a new member of the party, and Crys will reveal her power to the others (remember, Gamora, Quill, and Drax don't know about her ice breath; they assume that since she's a dragon, she breathes fire) Like I said, it probably won't be quite as exciting as some might think.**


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**aandm20: I admit, I like that better too.**

**Nezzux: No, I have not seen the Hobbit. I'm not making any stories related to Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, or the Hobbit.**

**random gal: It definitely is. Crys is, after all, an animal at heart, so she's bound to react to a lot of situations like an animal (twitching ears to hear something or show emotion, baring teeth, and using her wings to make herself look bigger)**

* * *

As Crys joined Groot, several little robots flew out of a separate room and surrounded them. All the while the alarm was still blaring. The flying robots surrounded Groot and Crys, as little branches began to grow on the former's shoulders, and the latter's ears pinned back.

"Prisoners," The man in the central tower said, in a bored tone, into a device that amplified his voice across the prison arena. "Drop the device immediately, and retreat to your cells, or we will open fire."

Instead of doing as the man said, and as more branches grew on the Flora Colussus's shoulders, making him seem bigger, Groot growled and roared, "I. Am. _Groot_!"

Crys flexed her wings to make herself look bigger and roared as well, smoke-like substance curling in the air from her nostrils.

"Fire!" The man in the watchtower yelled.

The droids began firing at Groot and Crys. She stayed behind him, whose skin, which was made of tough bark, protected him from the bullets, though they did make him double over briefly. Crys began blasting the droids with blasts of ice, freezing them, though they managed to melt the ice with their fiery blasts.

Still growling, Groot punched a droid away. It continued to shoot as it spun out of control and crashed into a wall.

Crys swung her tail at one that was approaching her, making it nearly crash into Quill, who was clambering up the stairs, trying to find the prisoner with the prosthetic leg.

"All prisoners return to your sleeping areas!" The man in the watchtower snapped in a less-bored tone, though the prisoners didn't seem to listen; they continued to scramble away, dodging bullet and ice blasts.

Rocket raced over to his two friends on all fours, dodging bullets and ice blasts as well, climbed up Crys's tail, and jumped onto Groot's shoulder. "You idiot!" He snapped. "How am I supposed to fight these things without my stuff?"

Neither Groot nor Crys answered as the Flora Colossus raised his arm, quickly grew a shield of brambles, and held it up to protect Rocket and Crys from oncoming blasts before hitting it away with the same arm. Crys grabbed a nearby droid in both arms, pierced its armor with her claws, and bit deep into it, breathing ice into it before letting it go. When it bounced off of the ground, she swiped it aside with her tail, turning just in time to encase another droid in ice.

"Creepy little beast!" A gruff voice called out from the side.

Crys and Rocket looked towards the voice just in time to see Drax throw a gun about as long as Rocket was tall towards the ring-tailed animal. Everything seemed to slow down as Rocket reached out, grabbed the gun, and held it to his chest. He cocked it menacingly, purring, "Oh, yeah!"

Suddenly, with a loud burst of noise rivaling the blasts from the droids and yelling, scattering prisoners, Rocket, Groot, and Crys all roared simultaneously. Rocket shot at everything that moved that wasn't with him on the escape plan; Groot and Crys slowly turned around, and the dragon swiped at the droids and guards with her claws, and fired at them with icy blasts.

The blasts still continued to fire. It chipped at Groot's tough bark, and Crys could feet warm blood begin to stain her fur, making it sticky. But finally, the last droid was destroyed.

"Rocket!" Gamora yelled from the second level. As soon as Rocket turned towards her, dropping the empty gun, she threw him the security band, which he caught. Nudging Groot's head, he yelled, "Move to the watchtower!"

Groot began lumbering to the watchtower as he was told. Crys followed after, limping slightly on an injured leg. She glanced up to see Rocket tweaking with the battery and wrist band, humming. "What's your plan?" She asked.

"You'll see, my icy-breathed friend." He smirked. "It's gonna be a blast!"

"I do hope you don't mean it literally." She shuddered as she and Groot reached the watchtower. She jumped into the air, and flapped her wings, maneuvering herself onto the bridge connecting the tower to the second level, just as Gamora leapt to the bridge. She pulled her up by her arms and looked down as Groot was growing taller, allowing Rocket to reach the bridge. Gamora and Crys both helped Rocket on.

Soon, Quill joined them with the prosthetic leg. Crys snickered under her breath, unable to believe he was able to get it.

The man in the watchtower was saying urgently into his radio, "We need all available guards in full-combat gear—" He froze as alarms blared, and the doors behind him opened, revealing an unusual group of prisoners: a Terran holding a prosthetic leg over his shoulder, a Zenwhoberi woman, a ring-tailed animal holding a mixed-device of a battery and wrist band, a tall humanoid dragon, a large blue-gray man with red markings, and a Flora Colossus, who had just jumped onto the bridge. All six of these prisoners—four of which were still in their uniforms—glared menacingly at the guard.

The guard held up his hands in surrender as the six prisoners stepped in. Gamora lifted him up by one shoulder, and Groot picked him up and threw him out of the watchtower. As everyone stood by the controls, Gamora and Crys noticed Drax standing between them. Both females jumped away from the man, eyeing him. "Spare me your foul gaze, woman!" He snapped at Gamora.

"Why is this one here?" She asked indignantly.

"I second that question!" Crys nodded. Drax sent a look to her as well, which she returned with pinned back ears and bared fangs.

"We promised him he could stay by your side until he kills your boss." Quill explained. "And I always keep my promises, especially when they're to muscle-bound whack-jobs who'll kill me if I don't. Here ya go." He laid the prosthetic leg on the controls next to Rocket, who was already at work pressing buttons and flipping switches.

"Oh, uh, I was kidding about the leg." He confessed with a slight grin. "I just needed the two things."

"What?!"

"No, I thought it'd be funny. Was it funny?" He asked, laughing. "What'd he look like, hopping around?"

"I had to transfer him 30,000 units!" Quill protested. He turned to Crys, hearing her snicker behind her hand. "Did you know about this?"

"He's done it before, yes. I just figured he'd want me to be quiet about it." She chuckled. She perked one ear up upon hearing another noise. She looked out one of the windows to see another droid flying up. "Uh, Rocket—" Everyone flinched as it began shoot at the window. "We've got company." She finished.

"How are we gonna leave?" Drax asked.

"Well, he's got a plan." Quill said, nodding at Rocket. "Right? Or is that another thing you made up?"

"I have a plan!" Rocket yelled, gliding back and forth along the controls. "I have a plan!"

"Cease your yammering and relieve us from this irksome confinement!" Drax demanded.

"Yeah, I'll have to agree with the walking thesaurus on that one." Quill nodded, only to be grabbed by the collar by the "walking thesaurus" in question, growling at him to not call him by that name. "It's just a metaphor, dude!"

"His people are completely literal," Rocket explained. "Metaphors are gonna go over his head."

"Nothing goes over my head." Drax sniffed, letting Quill go. "My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it."

"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." Gamora sighed.

"I resent that." Crys curled her lip in offense.

By now, several guards and flying droids had surrounded the watchtower, the former carrying large weapons. "Those are some big guns." Quill muttered.

"On my command!" One guard shouted. "Number one!" One shot at the watchtower, making it shake, and causing one of the windows to crack.

"Rodent, we are ready for your plan!" Gamora urged him.

"Hold on!"

"Number two!" Another shot was fired at the tower, making another window crack.

"I recognize this animal," Drax suddenly said. "We roasted them over a flame pit as children. Their flesh was quite delicious."

"Not helping!" Rocket growled.

"Number three!" This shot caused the window directly in front of the group to crack drastically. Thinking quickly, Crys shoved Gamora and Quill aside and coated the window with a thin layer of ice to temporarily stop the cracks.

"…Never seen a dragon breathe ice." Quill remarked.

"Is that a problem?" Crys growled.

"Not at all!" He exclaimed, holding his hands up. "Did I say it was a problem?"

"All fire on my command!" The guard shouted. Rocket worked as fast as his paws could go, pulling out wires and connecting his device to them.

"Three! Two!"

"Rocky?!" Crys cried, growing worried.

"One!"

With a grunt, the ringtailed animal plugged two wires in. Everyone heard a loud noise, and everyone and everything that wasn't bolted down outside the watchtower began to slowly float up into the air. "You turned off the artificial gravity," Gamora realized out loud. "Everywhere but in here."

"Told you I had a plan." Rocket smirked. He flipped a large switch, and the watchtower was released from the ground, and began to float as well. Hitting a few buttons on a small screen, he commanded the droids to cease attack mode, fly to the now-floating tower, and attach themselves to the bottom, making something like a mini-rocket. He tilted the whole thing down, and flew through the hallway they had come through earlier, skidded to a stop, and hit a button, locking the door that separated them from the guards.

"That was a pretty good plan." Quill nodded.

* * *

**A/N I've been in a bit of a writer's block (and in a sort of update-monthly schedule subconsciously) Especially since I got gaming computer (I use all of my other computer stuff on a laptop, BTW) so I can play games like Unturned, ARK: Survival Evolved (once I get it) Gmod, and Outlast (one of my favorite games to watch Let's Players play) It had a bad graphics card that made it not turn on 9 times out of 10, but that was resolved, and it works fine now. I might give Let's Playing a try when I'm able to record gameplay and audio (I'm probably gonna have a Facerig avatar as a webcam) But that probably won't be for a while, and I'll start out with small things, like playing Gmod. **

**In most of the battle in the prison, as you saw, Crys was standing back-to-back with Groot, helping to fight back against the droids and guards. The reason no one commented on her ice breath was because they were busy doing other things (plus, Rocket and Groot already know about it)**

**Like I had said before, the "big ice-breath reveal" wasn't too big or dramatic; just Crys freezing the window so it wouldn't shatter. There was a lot going on, so there was't much comment about it at the time.**


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**Wanli8970: Thanks :D Topaz was influenced by her father, and clan friends, telling her that Crys was different, in a bad way. Plus, she was considered a teenager-a spoiled one at that, mainly by their father-and so didn't want her "strange" sister interfering with her "love life". If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure the other readers weren't to pleased with Topaz's attitude either.**

**random gal: That is true.**

**I haven't thought about that, but it's something I'll definitely keep in mind for the future.**

* * *

Quill kicked out the window that Crys had previously frozen, and everyone clambered out and into the room with the prisoners' belongings. While Drax, Rocket, and Gamora grabbed their clothes, Quill ran to the window looking out at the vehicles. Sorting through them, he spotted what he was looking for. "There it is! My ship! It's the _Milano_, the orange and blue one over in the corner!"

Looking out the window, Crys and Groot also saw the ship, and nodded in confirmation. "They crumpled my pants up into a ball; _that's_ rude!" Rocket snapped. "They folded _yours_!"

"Figures. They're nice to Terran-like creatures, but less considerate to others," Crys scoffed, joining her best friends.

Quill shifted through the rotating boxes until he found his. Opening it, he found his original clothes, weapons, and bag. He opened his bag and searched through it, ignoring the orb. "The orb's there, let's go," Gamora said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Quill muttered, searching through the whole box this time.

"What's wrong?" Crys asked.

"The bastard didn't put it back!"

"Put what back?" Gamora huffed.

He took all of his belongings out of the box, and handed Gamora the bag. "Here, get them onto the ship. I'll be right back."

"How are you gonna possibly—"

"Just keep the _Milano_ close by. Go," he turned to run, glancing back when he saw Gamora and Crys hadn't left. "Go!"

"Gamora, come on!" Crys grabbed her arm, and the two females ran for the ship. They jumped into the ship and sat down. Seeing that Rocket was in the driver's seat, the dragon exclaimed, "Go, Rocket! Go!"

Without a word, Rocket started the _Milano_ and took off out of the prison. "Stay close to the Kyln," Crys continued.

"Where's Quill?" he asked as he positioned the ship.

"He's still inside, searching for something," Gamora said, still sounding irritated.

"What?! How's he gonna get to us?!"

"He declined to share that information with us."

"Well, screw this, then!" Rocket snapped. "I ain't waiting around for some humie with a death wish. You two got the orb, right?"

"Yes," Gamora nodded, opening the bag and taking something out, only to throw it aside quickly. Looking in again, she sighed sharply.

"What?" Crys twisted in her own seat to the right of Gamora and craned her neck to look into the bag, only to see nothing inside. "Oh, he's good," she raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"What's goin' on?" Rocket asked, looking over his shoulder at the two females.

"Quill has the orb with him," Crys explained, sitting back up straight. "He's a smart Terran."

Growling deeply in his throat, Rocket sat back up straight as well, crossing his arms and grumbling to himself. After several minutes, he said, "If we don't leave _now_, we _will_ be blown to bits."

"No!" Gamora snapped, startling Crys. "We're not leaving without the orb!"

Drax glanced out the window on his side of the _Milano_, and saw something fly around the Kyln. When it got closer to the ship, he saw it was Quill, dressed in his red jacket, and space mask, flying towards the _Milano_ using rocket boots. "Behold," he said, prompting everyone to look to where he was.

Cry's ears perked up, and her eyes widened. "Wow," she chuckled once, "he has good transportation."

Once Quill disappeared under the _Milano_, Gamora and Drax got up and went to the back hatch to let him in. Crys and Groot also stood up and walked back in time to see Quill climb in with the help of Gamora and Drax. "This one shows spirit," the red-tattooed man said, impressed. "He shall make a keen alley in the battle against Ronan. Companion," he said to Quill, "what were you retrieving?"

By now, Quill's mask had seemingly "melted" away, revealing his face. He handed the music-playing box to Drax, and walked away, nudging Rocket out of his seat to take control of the ship.

"…You're an imbecile."

* * *

Half an hour later, the ship was on autopilot, soaring through the endless sea of stars. Rocket was sitting on a piece of metal, humming to himself, as he crafted several small machines. Drax was sitting nearby, examining his knife, Gamora stood by a table with a map hologram, Groot was looking outside the window, and Crys was napping on the floor by Rocket. Everyone had changed out of their prison uniforms and into own clothes by now.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Yo, Ranger Rick!" Quill exclaimed, waking Crys. "What are you doing?! You can't take apart my ship without asking me! What _is_ this?!" He asked, bending down to pick something up.

"Don't touch that," Rocket warned him. "It's a bomb."

"A bomb?!"

"Yup."

"And you leave it lying around?!"

"He's not stupid," Crys defended Rocket, standing and stretching, "he knows what he's doing."

"Yeah. Besides, I was gonna put it in a box."

"What's a box gonna do?" Quill asked, still incredulous.

"What about this one?" Rocket pulled a box of instruments out from under a desk and picked up a small, brightly-wrapped box.

"No!" Quill suddenly snapped, kicking the box back under the desk, making Rocket drop the wrapped one back in. "Leave it alone!"

"Why? What is it?" Crys asked, curiously.

"Shut up," Quill glared lightly at her, making her furrow her eyebrows and wrinkle her nose.

"Hey!" Rocket snapped, raising an eyebrow at Quill.

"What is that?" The Terran asked, gesturing at the larger machine.

"That's for if things get _really_ hardcore," Rocket answered, grinning up at Quill. "Or if you wanna blow up moons."

"No one's blowing up moons," Gamora said.

"You just wanna suck the joy out of everything," Rocket huffed under his breath.

Crys patted his shoulder sympathetically before joining Quill and the others at the table. "So, listen," Quill said to Gamora, "I'm gonna need your buyer's coordinates."

"We're heading in the right direction, for now," she said, cradling the orb in one hand.

"If we're gonna work together, you might want to try trusting me a little bit."

"And how much do you trust _me_?" She smirked at him.

"I'd trust you a lot more if you told me what this was," Quill answered, taking the orb and placing it back on the table, "because I'm guessing it's some kind of weapon."

"I don't know what it is," Gamora shrugged.

"Perhaps it's simply a piece of decoration," Crys chimed in, picking up the orb and tossing it in her hand. "I've seen similar things in people's homes."

"If it's a weapon," Drax said, grabbing the orb out of midair, "we should use it against Ronan."

"Put it down, you fool!" Gamora said, her voice rising in anger. "You'll destroy us all!"

"Or just _you_, murderess!"

"I let you live _once_, princess—"

"I am _not_ a princess!"

"Hey!" Quill snapped. "_Nobody_ is killin' _anybody_ on my ship! We're stuck together until we get the money."

Glancing down at the orb, Drax threw it into the Terran's chest, huffing, "I have no interest in money."

"Great," Quill nodded as Drax walked away. "That means more money for the four of us."

Groot huffed indignantly, raising one eyebrow. "For the _five_ of us," Quill corrected himself with a sigh. "Partners?"

"We have an agreement, but I would never be partners with the likes of you," Gamora sniffed. "I'll tell the buyer we're on our way. And Quill, your ship is filthy."

Quill smirked as he watched Gamora climb up the ladder to the second level of the ship, then said to Rocket and Crys, "oh, she has no idea. If I had a black light, this place would look like a Jackson Pollock painting."

Crys cocked her head in confusion. "You got issues, Quill," Rocket said in disgust.

* * *

**A/N You all know my excuse: writer's block. Plus, I was at a kind of difficult point in the movie, but I think I got through it fine.**

**If you noticed some of the grammar is different with the dialogue, it's because I finally learned how to write it correctly. It was difficult to not use periods were commas are meant to be, but I'll get used to it.**

**I omitted the part where Quill got his Walkman (whenever I hear the word "Walkman," I think of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song; I've never seen the show, but I know the theme song) because this is mostly in Crys's POV, and she was with the others in the _Milano_ at the time. Also, is it just me, or did the guard that had Quill's Walkman have really big eyes? Is the actor like that in real life, or was it edited after shooting?**

**So, between now and when they get to Knowhere, Crys will be getting to know Quill more; as for Drax, she'll still avoid him, but she'll get acquainted with him later.**

**That reminds me, I'm considering something interesting. If you guys have watched the movie (sorry for the spoilers for those who haven't, BTW) you'll know Quill and Gamora were taken by the Ravagers on Knowhere, and Groot, Drax, and Rocket are left on said planet. There are two options I'm considering, which I may put in a poll now that I'm thinking about it: I could either keep Crys on Knowhere as well, and go with the guys on the _Milano_ to rescue Quill and Gamora, or I could have her taken by the Ravagers as well. I'm keeping it as simple as I can to not spoil anything, but I'm not sure which to consider. I'll put up a poll after posting the chapter, and you guys can vote on which you think would be better. It'll be a while before the events happen, but I like to get things "concrete" in advance.**


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**random gal: Ah, okay.**

**I see what you mean, and I HAVE been deeply thinking about how I'm going to do both situations, even though I have to choose one or the other when the time comes. But no matter which event happens, remember: I didn't give Crys the disadvantage of her usekh just as a gimmick ;)**

**Wanli8970: That's okay :) The reason why I said that I think dragons are overrated is because almost everyone knows and loves dragons, and I was worried that people would roll their eyes at the idea of alien dragons. But so far, everyone likes Crys. As for a sequel, I have an idea in mind, though it's pretty small, and I'd have to add more onto it; I also don't write sequels immediately after the first story is finished. I like to leave space in between the stories.**

**Guest: Thanks :) That WOULD actually be kinda interesting, but I'm probably gonna have it be the same (ie, Quill and Gamora get captured together) Like I said, I'm brainstorming how I'd do both situations when the time comes to write it. As for romance, there probably won't be much, if at all. But in any case, there won't be any Quill/Crys romance; they'll just be friends.**

* * *

Groot went back to the window to look out at the stars. Crys joined him, sighing softly, "You never quite realize how big the universe is. When you do, you feel much smaller."

The Flora Colossus grunted in agreement. "Imagine realizing that when you're a kid," Quill remarked, joining the duo.

Crys cocked her head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I was picked up off of Earth…or, Terran, as everyone else calls it, when I was a kid by the Ravagers. I guess I can call them a family, since they raised me. Believe me; I was awestruck by how large the universe was, and how many other species there are. Back home, twenty years ago, at least, aliens were things of fiction."

Groot and Crys exchanged a knowing smirk. "I'll bet the other Terrans would be astounded to see us, hm?"

"Definitely;" Quill chuckled, leaning back against the wall, arms crossed, "a sentient tree and a dragon. When I was a kid, I loved dragons."

"Really?" Crys raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. They were big, fierce, and strong…though, they only breathed fire," he said, almost looking sheepish. "This is the first time I've seen, or at least heard of, an ice-breathing dragon."

"You should take a trip to Drakonehm," the mentioned Ignis remarked. "There are three types of dragons: Ignises, the fire-breathers; Glaciems, the ice-breathers, and Venenums, the poison gas-breathers."

"Uh, I think I'll stay away from the ones with deadly mouth farts, thank you," Quill said, looking a little frightened.

Crys laughed loudly, "From what I've heard, they're peaceful dragons, but _do_ get snappy at strangers. It's the Ignises and Glaciems you shouldn't anger. They can burn you and freeze you where you stand."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

Smirking, Crys continued, "The Ignises are orange with red stripes and eyes, and leathery wings. They live near volcanoes, and tend to have fiery tempers. Glaciems have gray fur and pale-blue stripes and eyes, and thinner wings. They live up in the coldest mountains on the planet, and have cold natures. From what my…my _father_ told me," she wrinkled her nose at the mention of him, "Venenums are green with green-yellow stripes and eyes, and their front legs double as wings, and they live in swamps."

Quill and Groot both listened with intent fascination, even though the latter already knew about Drakonehm and its inhabitants. "So…you're orange, and have leathery wings, but your neck, chest, stomach, and under-tail are furry, and you have blue eyes and stripes," the Terran said thoughtfully, "not to mention you breathe ice. So—"

"I'm an Ignis," Crys insisted, almost sounding bitter. "But I was born during the winter months, cursed with this icy breath. It caused me so much anguish and pain."

At this point, it appeared that smoke was coming from her nostrils. Glancing at Quill, Groot asked tentatively, "I am Groot?" **[Quill's noise box was interesting, wasn't it?]**

Perking her ears up, Crys calmed down and nodded, "Yes, it was," she turned to Quill. "What did you say your noise box was called?"

Rolling his eyes with a chuckle, he answered, "It's music, not just noise. And this is a Walkman, which plays music."

He showed the two aliens the small, blue box. He pushed a button, and a small box with two wheels inside popped out; it said _Awesome Mix Vol. 1_ on it with blue ink. "That small thing plays music?" Crys asked, sniffing at it.

"Yep," Quill nodded proudly, heading for a wall with a small slot, and buttons. He pushed the small box into the slot, and pushed one of the buttons. The wheels began to spin, and as Groot and Crys looked closer, sound suddenly boomed, startling both of them and making them jump back. After a few seconds, they relaxed and listened to the music. It was high-pitched, but soon switched to deeper, bouncier beats, and someone began singing.

Crys's tail, which was limp on the ground, began tapping to the beat, and Groot's shoulders began bobbing up and down in turns. The two aliens glanced at each other, smiles growing, as the dragon's hips began moving from side to side, her shoulders were bobbing, and her tail was wagging more. The Flora Colossus was moving as well, though he didn't have a tail to move; Quill simply watched the two aliens dancing with amusement.

After a minute, Groot noticed Drax looking at them, and nudged Crys in the shoulder. When she paused and looked in the direction he was looking in, she saw the large man, who was now glaring at the two of them in confusion and disapproval, as if he didn't like what they were doing. Crys bared her teeth and growled at him, spreading her wings as if to appear bigger. After several tense seconds, Drax left, prompting everyone to relax.

"What was _his_ problem?" Quill scoffed, feeling it wise to turn off the music. "It was just dancing."

"Was that what Groot and I were doing?" Crys asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry; it's natural to start dancing to good music."

"The sounds _were_ pleasing," the dragon nodded. "I've never heard anything like that in my life."

"You haven't lived until you've heard good music, my friend," Quill sighed, leaning back against the wall. "By the way, no offense, but why do you get so…tensed up around the big guy?"

"It's…personal," she answered, holding her wings close to her defensively.

The Terran glanced at Groot, shrugging. "So, um…how'd you, Rocket, and Groot meet?"

"I was a zoo attraction for a disgustingly greedy alien," Crys snorted. "I was insulted and disrespected; mistreated, to say the least. I lost my tail spike because I tried to pick the lock of my cage. Rocket and Groot were at the zoo, and Groot was able to convince Rocket to help me escape later that night. Unfortunately, we were captured and imprisoned—"

"Why were _you_ convicted?" Quill asked. "Was it because you were with them?"

"They found out, through some mind-reading contraption, of my previous crimes: homicide and attempted homicide, and burglary. The first two charges…I'd rather not talk about."

At Quill's understanding nod, the dragon continued, "Rocket, Groot, and I—as well as an inmate friend, whom got away…I hope—managed to escape, and we formed a pact."

"Five years later, here we are," Rocket sighed, "working with a thief, an assassin, and a maniac, to deliver some orb that could very well be decoration."

"I am Groot," **[Four billion units divided five ways.]** Groot reminded his furry friend.

"Yeah, I know;" he nodded, "doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Having the profit split, or working with us?" Quill asked.

"I prefer working with people I trust. Let's put it that way, and leave it that way."

* * *

**A/N Kinda on the shorter side, but that's okay. I really wanted to get a new chapter posted before Thanksgiving, but I didn't want it to be too short either. I think I found a good middle ground.**

**This is mostly filler, with Crys and Quill talking about dragons and music. I don't believe I've ever spoken a lot about the species of dragons on Drakonehm, other than describing them. They might have changed a touch or two (especially where they could become anthro-sized, like how Crys is now, at will and without the usekh; how I ever thought that'd be a good idea, I'll never know) but they're pretty consistent. There are better pics on my DeviantART profile (same username) They were made with a dragon maker game, though I think they're pretty decent.**

**The song used in this chapter is "Livin' Thing" by ELO. The reason I chose this was because it was revealed that the reason Baby Groot stopped dancing when Drax looked at him was because Groot, as an adult, was dancing to "Livin' Thing" (they didn't say where or when) and Drax had given him a look like he didn't like it (you can read the story with a quick Google search) So, I decided to reference this scene, while adding Crys into the mix, as well as the scene where Groot is looking at the radio, and gets startled when "Hooked on a Feeling" starts blasting (this can be seen in one or two trailers, and when the menu screen for the DVD is starting)**


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**Wanli8970: Thanks :) That would be interesting, but I don't think dragons exist on Earth in the Marvel universe (I know, we have aliens, Nordic gods, and super powers beyond belief, but no dragons...at least I don't think; I don't read the comics) If the Guardians meet any other dragons, it'll be on Drakonehm at least. But thanks for the idea :)**

**random gal: Yep, friendly friends :3**

**I like logic too, but I try not to let it get in the way too much in my fanfics.**

**Probably, but I think they would both have basically jumped at the sudden noise.**

* * *

_An extravagantly-cloaked figure walked along a table, running clocked fingers along it briefly, before stopping in front of a glass box, containing a sleeping alien. Said glass box was being cleaned by a pink-skinned woman, dressed in a white, short-sleeved and short-skirted white dress. "Carina," the cloaked figure said._

"_Yes, Master?" the woman asked, bowing her head and pausing in her work._

"_Your people do have elbows, do they not?"_

_Glancing down at her arms, she answered in confusion, "We do, Master."_

"_Then…use them," the cloaked man said sinisterly. "I don't have to remind you what happened to the last attendant who disappointed me, do I?"_

_Carina glanced over her shoulder, face full of fear; inside another glass prison was another woman, who was the same species as herself. She was handcuffed, had a collar around her neck, and was strapped down so she couldn't move. She glanced down, biting her lip nervously._

"_Chop, chop," her master said, prompting her to continue scrubbing the glass prison hurriedly. "Our guests will be here soon."_

* * *

Crys peeled her heavy eyelids open, briefly confused about where she was. Then, she remembered she was on the Milano, Quill's ship, which was headed for Knowhere.

Her memory recollected that Quill said he only had two beds, so some of the "crew" would have to sleep on the floor or other furniture. He took one bed, Gamora took the other, and Drax slept on one of the chairs in the "main lobby" of the ship, knives still clutched in his hands. As for the thug trio, Groot slept sitting on the floor, back against the wall. Crys lay on her stomach, with her arms crossed in front of her chest, and her head on Groot's lap. Rocket lay back against Crys's side, clutching her tail against himself like a blanket.

When she looked around, Crys saw Groot and Rocket were still asleep. Feeling the need to get up and stretch her legs, she slowly pulled her tail out of her friend's arms, carefully lifted him up, and set him down next to Groot. She stood up and left the room, pausing to stand on her toes and stretch her hind legs, and then stretched her wings and arms, yawning widely and showing her teeth. Sighing happily, she wandered around the ship, glancing about at the random knickknacks Quill had scattered about. He had told her and the others that they were things he had as a child on Terra, or Earth as he called it, when he was a child over twenty years prior. He had also told Rocket that there were creatures like him, except they usually walked on four legs, ate anything they could find, didn't talk, and didn't wear clothes or use guns.

Rocket was very flabbergasted, to say the least. "I've never met any 'raccoons,' but I'm sure as hell embarrassed for them."

A noise startled Crys out of her stretches and thoughts. She turned her head quickly towards the noise, ears perked up. She saw Drax sitting on one of the chairs, knives still in hand, and was eyeing her.

The dragon stood like a deer in headlights. Her ears twitched backwards, and her eyebrows furrowed. The two aliens stared at each other, not budging an inch. Crys could feel the fear she felt as a dracling budding, urging her to leave the room. Her eye twitched as she struggled to keep her fear in check. Rocket had told her, years ago, that she had to suppress her fear. "Otherwise, you're just gonna be afraid of every big guy you see," he had said. "And that's not gonna be good for either of us."

Crys closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out through slightly-pursed lips, opening her eyes to see Drax still sitting, and still staring. _**You need to leave. He could hurt you.**_

_H-he won't. Besides, I'm not afraid of him._

_**How do you know he won't? He's killed before.**_

_I have my claws and teeth, and my wings._

_**He has knives.**_

_I refuse to be afraid. I'm bigger than him. I'm not a dracling; I am not afraid of him._

_**He's killed before. He could very well be thinking of ways to kill you.**_

"I'm not afraid of you." Crys's eyes widened, and she pressed her lips together tightly. But it was too late; she already let it slip.

Drax's own eyes widened, and his jaw slacked in surprise. Growling angrily at herself, Crys stormed out of the room, tail lashing behind her and smacking into something, causing her to grunt in pain.

"What's gotten you so pissed off?" Rocket asked, having awoken.

"Nothing," Crys shook her head, sitting down. "Nothing to worry about."

Rocket eyed her suspiciously. He knew her well enough to know something was indeed bothering her. But she could be stubborn about talking about things like that—he wondered if he rubbed off on her in the past several years—so he let it go with a facial expression telling her he knew something was bugging her.

* * *

"Heads up," Rocket later yelled out to the others, "we're inbound!"

Everyone dropped what they were doing and walked to the cockpit, which was where Rocket and Groot were.

They were in a part of space where there were numerous colors and clouds, looking very much like a beautiful picture. Among the colorful clouds was a giant, disembodied head acting as a planet.

"Whoa," Quill whispered, voicing everyone else's thoughts.

"What is it?" Drax asked.

"It's called Knowhere," Gamora explained as the _Milano_ flew closer. They could see the parted, fanged-jaw, and glowing dead eyes of the planet. And they could also make out buildings and civilizations.

"It's the severed head of an ancient celestial being," she continued, sitting down in one of the seats. "Be wary headed in, rodent. There are no regulations whatsoever here."

Curling his lip at the name, Rocket drove the _Milano_ into the giant eye, which turned out to be the entrance into the cranial cavity, which was alive with lights, buildings and similar structures, and mining areas. Little round robots drilled into the hard substances, which were presumably bone, and flew about the "city". On the ground, there were several large pools of yellow liquid.

"How did the severed head of a giant to dwarf all giants become a habitable planet?" Crys asked, trying to wrap her head around how a celestial being could even become beheaded in the first place.

"Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent workers in to mine the organic matter within the skull," Gamora explained, as the _Milano_ landed. Everyone stepped out and followed the green woman through the crowded and rowdy streets. "Bone, brain tissue, spinal fluid; all rare resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy. It's dangerous and illegal work, suitable _only_ for outlaws."

"Well, I come from a planet of outlaws:" Quill said, almost sounding proud, "Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos,"

"It sounds like a place I would like to visit," Drax remarked.

"Yeah, you should," the Terran nodded.

A group of dirty and tattered-clothed children ran up to the group, begging for spare units. "Watch your wallets," Quill advised the others.

A young blonde girl stopped in front of Groot and Crys. The Flora Colossus held out his hand, and a small blue flower grew in the middle of his palm. He gently plucked it, and held it out to the small child. She took it with a shy smile, glancing between Groot and Crys.

The dragon could hear Quill and Rocket shoo the other children away. "Come on, Groot," she said, "we'd better catch up." She patted the little girl's head with a sympathetic smile before following the group. "That was very sweet of you," she smiled at Groot, kissing his cheek. He shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"Your buyer's in _there_?" Rocket asked Gamora as they approached a brightly-lit building. A line of aliens stood outside, waiting to get in.

"We are to wait here for his representative," Gamora explained.

A large bouncer threw someone out of the building, growling for them to leave. "This is no respectable establishment," Drax huffed. "What do you expect us to do while we wait?"

* * *

**A/N I LIIIIIIVE! So, I know this is a bit late, but things have been busy lately, and I haven't gotten time to write (I also had some writer's block) But I finally was able to write this.**

**Half of this is mostly filler, with Crys "flashbacking" on one or two events. Since she's still wary of Drax, she's not gonna necessarily "bond" with him like she has with Gamora and Quill in the past. I think her inner monologue is pretty decent in describing how she feels about him, even though she wants to not be afraid of him, if that makes any sense.**

**I think we all wonder how a celestial being was beheaded, since their heads can become planets alone. Perhaps it had something to do with the stones?**

**I thought the scene where Groot grows a flower for the beggar children was adorable :3 It was one of my favorite scenes in the movie.**

**The next chapter's gonna be tricky. Here's why: it'll be in Crys's POV, so she'll see Rocket and Drax's argument start. I basically kinda know what it was about (Rocket insulting Drax's family, more than likely, and Drax insulting Rocket) spurred on by their drunkenness. I'm just not sure how to "start" it, if that makes any sense. Maybe one of them makes a passing, drunken comment? If anyone has any ideas, feel free to share.**

**I'm also gonna start trying to update as much as I can, be it a few chapters in a row for one story, or one after the other, rather than updating each story every other month. I realized if I keep that up, it'll be another year before one of the stories are finished or close to finished, and I want to get them finished. If I'm only updating one story (whether it's this or Candy Canes and Bananas with Black Peels) just know that I'll be at least trying to write for the other one. Sometimes I can only write for one story; that's kind of the cost of writing two stories at once: it's hard to focus on one other other.**


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**Wanli8970: Ah, I see. That makes sense. Since I don't read the comics, I didn't know that. But regardless, that's pretty interesting.**

**If you mean the italicized part, that wasn't Crys "seeing" it, that was just something that was happening at the same time; sort of like how it was in the movie. The only "powers" she has is her ice breath. In hindsight, I should have made it more clear that the italicized part was only something happening at the same time, and not any sort of vision.**

**I briefly thought about romance between Crys and Groot, but decided not to do that. They're more like siblings/best friends, so it would be kind of awkward. I know I wrote it like he had a crush on her earlier, but that can also be interpreted as him just loving her as a sister/best friend, and Rocket teasing them (since he was implying that Groot had a crush on Crys) Plus, romance won't really be a big element in this story, if at all. If I were to have romance between Crys and someone else, I'd save that for a sequel/oneshot.**

**Sarah: That's kind of how I wrote it out, except I added Crys into the mix.**

* * *

As it turned out, there were several things the escaped criminals could do while waiting for Gamora's buyer's representative: drink, dance, and bet on small animal fights.

Rocket and Drax quickly bought drinks and got to betting between two animals: a large blue and yellow lizard called an Orloni, and a few much smaller lizards. Between the loud music, and equally-loud shouts of those watching the fight, Crys could barely hear herself think.

She hadn't drunk much before, only remembering the sharp taste as it burned down her throat. But as she drank the drink Rocket shoved into her hand, it tasted sweet and bubbly, so she barely noticed the sharpness and burning feeling down her throat. As she drank more, she began to feel fuzzy in the head.

"My Orloni has won, as I win at all things!" Drax shouted as the mentioned-animal was finished devouring the other creatures. "Now, let's put more of this liquid into our bodies!"

"That's the first thing you said that wasn't bat-shit crazy!" Rocket slurred happily, throwing his head back and chugging.

Crys stretched her neck out and up and roared loudly, making the people who were near her jump.

After a while, the dragon began to feel a little ill, so she began refusing the drinks given to her. "C'mon, Crys," Rocket said, spilling a bit of his drink, though he seemed to not notice, "you only live once."

"You're not my father," she snorted, tossing her head up, though she regretted it as her head swam. "And _that_, I'm very happy about."

"Why?" Drax asked.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" she poked him in the chest with a wide smile, feeling much braver. "'Sides, he wouldn't care about me."

"Your dad was an asshole," Rocket remarked.

"You better believe it," Crys nodded, gladly taking the water Groot gave her. "Family sucks ass anyway."

Drax gave her a disapproving look. "Hey, lighten up, Tattoos," Rocket said. "She didn't have the happy life you probably had with the literal deadbeats you lived with."

"How _dare_ you speak of them that way?!" Drax snarled, staring down at the furry alien. "You know nothing!"

"Chill out," Rocket snorted, drinking the remainder of his glass. "I wouldn't know about any family, yours or otherwise. They were probably just like you: violent and brainless."

That did it. Drax grabbed up Rocket by the scruff and shook him around, shouting about how he was nothing but disrespectful vermin, who was good for nothing but a useless mistake from science.

Crys's eyes widened as she was slightly-shaken from her drunken stoop. "Leave him alone!" she exclaimed.

Roaring, Groot charged at Drax, catching him by surprise, and making him drop Rocket. Crys stood on all fours over the furry creature, growling at anyone who came close, as he shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

Drax wrestled the Flora Colossus off of him, shoved him against the table, and leapt onto him. Everyone around the four aliens was cheering, as Drax punched Groot repeatedly in the face on the ground. Groot extended his branches and began strangling Drax, but he broke them off as if they were twigs.

Crys and Rocket were now standing behind Groot. Rocket was cocking his large gun, and Crys was readying her ice breath, when suddenly, Gamora shoved Drax off of Groot, yelling for him to stop.

As Rocket prepared to shoot anyone in his line of sight, Quill burst through the crowd, yelling, "Whoa, whoa! What are you doing?!"

"This vermin speaks of affairs he knows nothing about!" Drax accused Rocket.

"That is true!" he retorted.

"He and the dragon have no respect!"

"That is _also_ true!"

"_You_ have no self-restraint!" Crys growled, still standing on all fours.

"Hold on!" Quill shouted at the furry creature and dragon.

"Keep calling me vermin, tough guy!" Rocket challenged Drax as Groot stood up, rubbing his jaw. "You just wanna laugh at me, like everyone else!"

"Rocket, you're drunk," Quill said, desperately trying to play mediator between the hostile aliens. "All right? No one's laughing at you."

"He thinks I'm some stupid thing! He does!" Rocket protested, his voice starting to become shaky. "Well, I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to be torn apart, and put back together, over and over, and turned into some…some little monster!"

Crys hadn't been told much about Rocket's past, only bits and pieces; basically that he had been heavily experimented on, and that he wasn't all organic. But she hadn't known the extent of his past life, until now.

She softly nuzzled her snout against his shoulder. He half-heartedly pushed her away. "Rocket, no one's calling you a monster," Quill said gently.

"He called me 'vermin'!" he suddenly shouted, pointing at Drax. "She called me 'rodent'!" he pointed at Gamora, who had a touch of guilt in her expression. Drax himself was still angry.

"…Let's see if you can laugh after five or six good shots to your frickin' face"! he growled, cocking his gun again.

The crowd gasped at the sight. "No, no, no, no!" Quill stammered, standing between Rocket and Gamora and Drax, "four billion units, Rocket! Come on, man-hey! Suck it up for one more lousy night, and you're rich."

_Are you sure you should be shouting that? We _are_ in a crowded building, after all._ Crys held her tongue, though, as Rocket quietly considered the option for a few seconds. Finally, he deactivated his gun with a sigh, "Fine. But I can't promise when this is all over I'm not gonna kill every last one of you jerks."

Briefly placing a hand on his forehead, Quill exclaimed, "See?! That's exactly why none of you have any friends! Five seconds after you meet somebody, you're already trying to kill them!"

"We have traveled halfway across the quadrant," Drax sighed, "and Ronan is no closer to being dead." Shoving Gamora's hand off of his chest, he turned around and left the bar.

"Drax!" Quill shouted after him.

"Let him go," Gamora shook her head, "we don't need him."

Groot dismissively waved at Drax with a glare. Crys stood on her hind legs and snorted in his direction.

Off to the side, a door opened, revealing a pink-skinned woman in a sleeveless, short-skirted dress, and small, silver boots. She had her hands clasped in front of her, revealing silver cuffs on her wrists. She stepped into the bar and called out, "Milady Gamora, I'm here to fetch you for my master." She gestured for her to follow her back through the door. Quill, Rocket, Groot, and Crys followed, leaving whispering bar patrons behind.

* * *

**A/N This chapter. I was stuck on this chapter for so long, it wasn't even funny. I knew how I wanted to start it, just getting around to it was a different story, no pun intended. Things have been kinda chaotic in real life, and I've had writer's block and plain laziness/uninspiration (if that can even be classified as a word) so I never really got around to it.**

**Another thing was I was very stuck with how I would start the fight between Rocket and Drax. Raphlav18 directed me to a fanfic called "Untold" by NinjaDino721, specifically chapter 4, where they tackled the same scene (thanks again, Raphlav18 :)) That certainly did help and inspire me. Plus, as I was writing the chapter, I got a couple of ideas myself, which allowed me to whip this up in 20 minutes or so.**

**I've never drank (I'm not old enough; several more months, though I don't plan to do so at all) so for all I know, the taste of alcoholic drinks and the effects I described are totally wrong. At any rate, Crys gets braver when drinking, and her tongue loosens a bit (which is why she talked a bit about her father and family)**

**Hopefully it won't take as long for me to update, since I've gotten over the initial hurdle. The poll for what happens to Crys when Quill and Gamora are captured is still up, even though everyone probably already voted on it/forgot about it. The two options are tied at the moment, but I'm really leaning towards her being captured at the moment. I think it'll be more interesting than the other option. Hopefully it won't take two months to get to that point; I just haven't been very inspired for writing at the moment. Hopefully that'll change (I'm saying "hopefully" a lot)**


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**neobendium: I'm sorry I took so long to update ^^; I'm glad you like it so much.**

**Ender the multiverse Detective: Thanks.**

**Amara124: I'm glad you like it :D**

**Wanli8970: Was it? I didn't really think it was, but all right. That's okay, I just wanted to make it clear not just for you (even if it wasn't needed) but for anyone else who saw it as romantic.**

* * *

The pink-skinned woman, who introduced herself as Carina, led the group to a building in the shape of a large, purple dome. Inside were numerous glass cages, big and small, each containing something, be it plants, people, or animals. There were also loud cries and moans, as though the caged creatures were crying out for escape.

It was like Crys's nightmare coming back to haunt her.

She glanced around the giant room, tail tip twitching with nervousness. Memories of her time in Gikan's zoo, as the main attraction, came flooding back. She curled her tail so she could touch the tip, remembering when it had been cut when she tried to pick the lock of her cage. Groot glanced to her over his shoulder with an understanding look, remembering he and Rocket found her in a zoo that was similar to this place. She nodded back with a tiny smile.

"Okay, this isn't creepy at all," Rocket remarked, glancing around.

"We house the galaxy's largest collection of fauna, relics, and species of all manner," Carina said, with her hands still clasped in front of her stomach, as she led the group deeper into the museum.

In one glass cage was a brown dog in a spacesuit. It growled at Rocket as he walked by, and he growled back.

Soon, the group came into a room with several large pieces of equipment. In the back, standing away from the group, was a man wearing a white fur coat.

"I present to you:" Carina said, extending her arms, "Taneleer Tivan, The Collector."

The man slowly turned around at the sound of his name. He had thick white hair, a thin strip of black hair on his chin, and was wearing some sort of magnifying glasses. Under his white cloak was a red suit and black dress pants; in two pockets in the front of his suit looped a long chain with many golden beads, and several bigger red, blue, and green beads.

As the group approached him, led by Gamora, he took off the glasses, revealing dark-brown eyes. "Oh, my dear Gamora. How wonderful to meet in the flesh," he greeted in a slow, deep voice, kissing her hand.

"Let's bypass the formalities, Tivan," she said curtly. "We have what we discussed."

The Collector turned his eyes over Gamora's shoulder to Groot. "What is that thing there?" he asked.

"I am Groot," he greeted politely.

The Collector slowly approached Groot, remarking, "I never thought I'd meet a Groot. Sir, you must allow me to pay you now so that I may own your carcass. At the point of your death, of course."

"…I am Groot," **[I suppose,]** he shrugged.

"Why?" Rocket snorted. "So he could turn you into a frickin' chair?"

"That's your pet?"

"His what?!" Rocket snarled, grabbing his gun, much to the Collector's amusement.

"He's baiting you, Rocket," Crys shook her head. "Don't fall for it."

The Collector's eyebrows rose a hint when he saw the dragon. "How interesting," he drawled, approaching her.

"You've never seen a dragon?" Crys asked, cocking one eyebrow.

"Oh, I've seen dragons, my dear," he answered. He looked her up and down with an interested expression, ignoring Rocket's warning growl. "However, I've never seen a specimen quite like _you_."

"I wouldn't imagine it," she answered, taking a step back. He was starting to make her a little nervous. He already had interest in taking Groot for his collection. Who was to say he wouldn't do the same with her?

Luckily, Gamora spoke up, "Tivan, we have been halfway around the galaxy, retrieving this orb."

"…Very well, then," he nodded once, stepping away from Crys. "Let us see what you brought."

Crys let out a small sigh of relief, and sent a grateful look towards Gamora.

Nodding at the dragon, Gamora turned to Quill expectantly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the orb. It slipped out of his hand, and he quickly crouched down to grab it, and then stood back up, holding it out to the Collector.

He took the orb and cradled it delicately in his hands. Though his facial expression didn't change, his eyes seem to widen a fraction. "Oh, my new friends," he sighed, placing the orb in a two-handed contraption. "Before creation itself, there were six singularities." He pulled a small lever, and the machine sprung to life, and began twisting the rob open in two halves. Several purple circles formed in a dome shape around the group. Several circles were filled with light, and turned into a galaxy of stars.

"Then, the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots: Infinity Stones."

One of the circles behind the Collector changed into six colored stones; blue, red, yellow, purple, orange, and green. As the orb continued to be opened, a bright purple light began to shine from within.

Several of the circles changed to reveal several objects, each corresponding to some of the colors of the stones. Groot reached out to try and grab a blue cube, but his hand went through it. Crys stretched her neck up to look at an upside-down teardrop-shaped yellow stone; she had to cross her eyes to try and see it, since it looking like it was embedded in her forehead.

"These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe."

The group turned around to see a large circle display a dry-looking planet. A metallic giant with multiple glowing lights was holding a staff with a purple light at the end of it. The glow was the same color as the light coming from the orb.

At the feet of the giant, dozens of people were running, desperate to get away. "These carriers can use the Stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field."

As the Collector continued, the carrier slammed his staff into the ground, and the ground pulsed, sending purple energy away from it, killing the escaping people and turning them to dust. The planet was shown to be encased with the purple light, and subsequently destroyed.

"There's a little pee coming out of me right now," Quill muttered.

Cry's icy-blue eyes were wide as she witnessed the horrors the Stones caused. It brought back horrible memories of when she went mad with rage and destroyed her clan. She was like a very shrunken-down scale of the Stone, and it made her shudder.

"Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even _they_ were quickly destroyed by it."

Now the "screen" showed a group of several masked and clothed people, holding strings of purple lights between themselves. One of them seemed to be holding the purple Stone in his hand. The light from the Stone grew brighter, and the stringed lights pulsated, and one by one, the people burst into glowing purple dust.

By now, the orb had been completely opened, revealing the treasure from within: one of the Stones.

Everyone stared down at it in a mixture of awe and shock. The Collector clenched his fists, shuddered, and gasped, "Beautiful! Beyond compare."

Rocket had had enough at this point. "Blah, blah, blah. We're all very fascinated, whitey," he snorted, imitating the Collector's movements. "But we'd like to get paid."

As the purple screens disappeared, Crys smirked wryly. _Always thinking about the money._

"How would you like to get paid?" the Collector asked.

"What do you think, fancy man? Units!"

Everyone, behind Rocket, looked at the Collector expectantly. "Very well, then," he nodded, and opened a drawer.

Out of the corner of her eye, Crys noticed Carina slowly approaching the stone with an odd look in her eyes. "Erm, sir?" she asked nervously, gesturing with her head.

When he noticed his servant, he said sternly, "Carina! Stand back!"

But she didn't listen. "I will no longer be your slave!" she shouted angrily.

"No!" he exclaimed, stepping from behind the counter. But it was too late.

She grabbed the stone in one hand. Immediately, her hand began glowing white and purple, and the Stone began pulsing, sending large balls of energy everywhere.

Gamora tackled Quill to the ground, and they hid behind the counter. The Collector was knocked to the ground and knocked unconscious. Dark veins traveled up Carina's arm and all across her body, and she began screaming in pain.

Crys was frozen as the building around her began to explode. Suddenly, she was grabbed up by Groot, and slung back over his shoulder. When she looked to her right, as he ran out of the exploding museum, she saw Rocket in his other arm.

Finally the museum was engulfed in a huge purple explosion. Groot crashed through the glass doors, and all three of the thieves screamed as they were knocked down and away from the explosion and onto the street.

* * *

**A/N While I was getting ready to write this (which consisted of bringing up the transcript for the movie, and the corresponding part of the actual movie) it occurred to me that Crys might feel uncomfortable in the museum, since it would be similar to when she lived in the zoo.**

**I thought the Collector was quite the interesting fellow. His appearance reminded me of the guy in 102 Dalmatians; the one Cruella hired for making her puppy coat...or something, I haven't seen it in forever. I just remember bits and pieces.**

**At first, I was gonna have the Collector to "think" Crys was Groot's mate, but raphlav18 mentioned what his [the Collector's] reaction would be. It made me wonder if he would be interested in her since she's not an average dragon (I almost referenced Yogi Bear's catchphrase) and possibly ask for her corpse as well. But luckily, it didn't get to that point. EDIT: It wasn't much, but I tweaked the part where we're introduced to the Collector, including describing him in greater detail, and expanding his and Crys's dialogue.**

**GotG was where the little things in the past Marvel movies are shown to be connected, possibly connecting said movies: the Infinity Stones. I thought it was really cool that the Tesseract, Aether (I didn't see the second Thor movie, so I had to look up what it was) and the stone from Loki's staff (spoilers for _Age of Ultron_) were all connected. I thought it would be cool for the Mind Stone to be referenced by Crys for _Age of Ultron_, since the Tesseract was back-referenced by Groot. Speaking of which, the after-credit scene for _Age of Ultron_ made my jaw drop, and made me say, "Oh, things are gonna go down!" You'll understand what I meant, unless you didn't see the movie.**

**I thought it'd be a bit better for, instead of Crys simply running out of the museum or hiding when it was exploding, that Groot had to grab her in order to get her out, like he did with Rocket. Not sure why, I just thought it'd be more interesting.**


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**neobendium: Thanks :D**

**Wanli8970: Not exactly "scared", just very uncomfortable ;) Thanks very much :D**

**Guest: As far as I know, no. The reason is I did a bit of research, and found that James Gunn won't add Lylla to GotG 2 is because basically, he thinks it's strange (the idea of a raccoon and otter being together) and it would change Rocket's character (it was on a website called CinemaBlend) So, I don't have any plans to add Lylla myself.**

* * *

Crys blinked several times to rid the stars from her eyes. When she felt at her neck and chest for her usekh, her fingers found a thick root wrapped around it. "Thanks, Groot," she sighed gratefully.

He grunted and nodded in return, retracting the root holding her usekh, and slowly stood up. Rocket pushed himself to his knees, rubbing his chest where it hit the ground. Crys rolled over, stood on all fours, and shook herself off.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dog in the spacesuit trotting out of the museum. Around them, people were still recovering from the explosion, and there were tiny random fires on the ground

As Crys stood to her feet, Gamora and Quill hurried out of the museum as well. "How could I think Tivan could contain whatever was within the orb?!" Gamora said angrily.

"Is he all right?" Crys asked, half-expecting the Collector to come stumbling out as well. Even if he creeped her out, she didn't want him seriously hurt, or worse.

"I dunno," Quill shrugged. "I didn't see him."

"What do you still have it for?!" Rocket exclaimed in a high pitch, pulling his cheeks down in bewilderment.

"Well, what're we gonna do, leave it in there?!" Quill shouted.

Crys's eyes widened when she saw the orb in Gamora's hand. "We tossed that thing around like a toy!" she gasped in a hushed, frightened tone.

"No kidding! I can't believe you had _that_ in your purse!"

"It's not a purse, it's a knapsack!" Quill retorted.

"We have to bring this to the Nova Corps," Gamora suddenly said. "There's a chance they can contain it."

"Are you kidding me?!" Rocket yelled. "We're _wanted_ by the Nova Corps! Just give it to Ronan!"

"So he can destroy the galaxy?" Quill asked.

"What are you, some saint all of a sudden?" Rocket scoffed. "What has the galaxy ever done for _you_? Why would you wanna save it?"

"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!"

"Peter, listen to me," Gamora said, grasping his coat lapel. "We can_not_ allow the Stone to fall into Ronan's hands. We _have_ to go back to your ship, and deliver it to Nova."

"Right," he nodded, "right, okay. I think you're right…Or, we could give it to somebody who's _not_ going to arrest us, who's _really_ nice, for a whole lot of money." He tried to take the orb from Gamora, but she snatched it back. "I think it's a really good balance between both of your points of view," he defended.

"You're despicable," she spat. "Dishonorable. Faithless!"

"Gamora, he's right," Crys sighed. "We're wanted criminals. Even if the Nova Corps indeed puts away the Stone, who's to say they won't do it _after_ putting _us_ in handcuffs?"

The green-skinned woman sent the dragon a poisonous glare before turning to leave. She stopped and gasped, "Oh no!"

Crys, Quill, Groot, and Rocket looked in the same direction. Hundreds of ships were flying down to Knowhere. And who was standing before them, knives in hands? Drax the Destroyer.

"At last!" he shouted gleefully, laughing. "I shall meet my foe and destroy him!"

"You called Ronan?!" Quill exclaimed incredulously.

"What have you done?!" Crys cried.

The largest ship in the front spun around and landed on the dusty road, as civilians ran into buildings and alleyways.

"Quill!" A voice off to the side yelled.

Quill and Crys looked, only to see the Ravagers, with a blue-skinned, grizzled-looking man leading. "Don't you move, boy!" he yelled.

Crys turned to Quill, who looked the very image of a child being caught doing something disobedient by a parent. "Friends of yours?" she asked.

"Something like that," he shrugged. Seeing Gamora run off to their left, he followed after her. Shaking his head, Rocket ran after them as well, with Groot trailing behind. Crys nearly followed them, but stood around the corner of the building when she saw the landed ship open.

Out of the ship stepped a tall, black-cloaked figure. He had blue skin, with black markings on his face, and wore a large hood over his head. Several fully-suited guards followed behind; among them was a bald, blue-skinned woman with black eyes, and darker-blue clothing.

"Ronan the Accuser!" Drax shouted.

"You are the one who transmitted the message?" Ronan asked.

"You killed my wife," Drax growled angrily, clenching his knives tightly. "You killed my daughter!"

Crys's ears pinned back in sympathy, though she still stayed hidden. This was Drax's fight; he wanted this, and she had no right to get involved.

Ronan stood still with an expression on his face that looked as though he was trying to decide whether Drax was worth the effort of fighting or not. The woman behind him looked up at the sky and said, "It is Gamora. She is escaping with the orb."

Crys looked up as well to see three mining pods flying away. She gasped softly when she realized they had been seen, and would more than likely be pursued.

Her worries were correct. As the woman yelled commands to the guards, Ronan sneered at Drax and turned to go back to the ship. After a few seconds, Drax yelled, "No!" He ran at Ronan and swiped at the Kree, but he easily ducked.

"Nebula," Ronan said, "retrieve the orb."

Drax tried to attack again, but Ronan dodged effortlessly and pushed him to the ground as though the tattooed alien were weightless.

But Drax did not give up. As the ship left, he leapt to his feet continued to attack Ronan. But the Kree effortlessly threw off his attacks, and literally threw him into a building.

Crys briefly considered leaving to help the others, but when she turned to fly off, she saw Drax run to tackle Ronan, only to get thrown back onto the road again. Drax attacked with one of his knives, only for it to be thrown to the side by Ronan. The same thing happened with the other knife. Crys stood where she was, eyes glued to the fight.

Drax continued to attack, now with his fists since his knives were gone. But Ronan still effortlessly blocked and attacked back, not even breaking a sweat. It looked as if he was fighting a child. Crys wondered halfheartedly if the Kree was even using his full strength.

Evidentially having enough, Ronan grabbed Drax by the throat. He grabbed the Kree's arm in one hand, and punched him with the other. But it didn't seem to do a thing. With a warrior's cry, Ronan slammed Drax onto the ground. Crys winced at the impact, swearing she heard bones crack. She shook her head with a growl; now she herself had had enough.

"I don't recall killing your family," Ronan said with an air of disinterest.

Drax continued to cling to Ronan's arm as his vision began to become blocked with black spots. Ronan let him go and stood up. "I doubt I'll remember killing you either."

Suddenly, there was a loud roar. Through his fuzzy vision, Drax saw Crys galloping towards them on all fours like an attack dog.

Ronan cocked his head slightly, as though curious about the dragon. Then, just as Crys leapt to attack him, jaws wide open and claws stretched out, he punched her upside the chin, sending her flying and tumbling backwards a great distant. Drax thought he saw something golden fly from her head.

Crys fell heavily to the ground, groaning. As she rubbed her chin, she cried out, collapsing; her whole body was wracked with pain. Gasping, she clutched at her chest. "No!" she cried, realizing her usekh was gone. "No! No! _No!_" She tried to stand to find it, but fell and curled up in a ball, screaming in agony. Her bones felt they were being snapped like twigs, and her muscles were on fire. When she cracked her eyes open, she saw her body growing and rearranging itself.

She slowly looked up at the sky, and saw the mining pods flying in the distant, followed closely by Ronan's ships.

Crys could feel the Beast inside already taking over. She growled deeply, and her eyes narrowed. Her pained screams turned into a savage roar. _Please forgive me._

* * *

**A/N The day I wrote this chapter (a few days ago) I was also able to write two more chapters. It was one of those moments where I'm really into the writing process, and find myself with several already-written chapters. But I'm leaving a few days, at least, between chapter updates. The reason is I want to give people a chance to read and/or review new chapters before the nest one is posted.**

**I felt that, despite her friendship with Gamora, Crys would agree with Quill on not giving the Stone to the Nova Corps, since they ARE criminals, and more than likely wouldn't be acquitted just because they gave them a weapon that Ronan was after (it worked out differently in the film, don't forget ;))**

**This was the chapter where it could have gone differently. If you remembered a few months ago, I had a poll asking you guys to pick between two choices that could happen in this chapter: Crys staying on Knowhere with Rocket, Groot, and Drax, effectively helping to save Quill and Gamora; or she is captured alongside Quill and Gamora. I had put a lot of thought into both choices, playing out the two different scenarios in my head so I could easily write them out. When I took down the poll a month or so ago, the choice of Crys being captured as well had just one more vote than her staying on Knowhere. I confess, that was my favorite choice, so I was happy that was chosen; however, had the other choice been the winner, I would have written that too, rest assured.**

**Crys may not be as "chummy" with Drax as she is with the others, but she isn't going to let him get beaten to a pulp, even if he DID do something incredibly stupid. Why didn't she simply use her ice breath? It wouldn't have been as interesting :3 But really, she probably either didn't want to accidentally freeze Drax, or she wasn't thinking straight. Whatever it was, it cost her. Never let it be said that I simply gave her the disadvantage her usekh gave her as a silly gimmick that wouldn't be used ;) Plus, if she were in the original movie (start reading [chapter 11] from when she first "appears" in the movie to get an idea) this would be where we'd be revealed what would happen if her usekh was lost.**


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**raphlav18: XD Hope you like what happens in this chapter :D**

**Amara124: Your review made me laugh so hard XD**

**Ender the multiverse Detective: Thanks.**

**MonkeyGirl13: Thanks :)**

**Wanli8970: Everyone take cover! XD**

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"Quill, I'm trapped!" Gamora yelled in the intercom. "I can't make it to the _Milano_… I have to head out."

"What? Wait!" Quill exclaimed. "These things aren't meant to go out there!" He jumped when he heard a roar. It sounded familiar, yet was very animalistic, and very loud. Using the mining pod's arms, he pressed a button in the ship he hijacked, and a screen displaying what was behind him popped up.

To his shock, Crys was flying through the air, trailing behind them. But she looked different. She was much, much bigger than she was before, her usekh was gone, and her eyes were completely icy-blue, with a savage look in them.

She looked much more like a real dragon.

"Uh, Rocket?" he asked apprehensively. "Why is Crys much bigger, and look so pissed?"

Rocket cursed loudly over the intercom, "Goddammit, Crys! You stupid dragon! How'd you lose your usekh, you frickin' idiot?!"

"Her what?"

"The necklace she had! You think she had it because it looked pretty?!" Rocket snarled. "She's basically a wild animal now! There ain't no reasoning with her _now_; she's probably _after_ us!"

Indeed, Crys was on the chase. She opened her jaws and fired a large beam of ice at Quill. He managed to dodge the blast before he was encased in ice. Crys managed to catch up to Rocket, and snapped at his pod. With a surprised cry, he flew out of the way before he was grabbed, and before he crashed into a building. Crys wasn't so lucky, and crashed into the building. Shaking her head, she jumped backwards out of it, pumped her wings, and continued to chase the pods, still looking like a predator chasing its prey.

Getting an idea, Quill said, "Rocket! We need to lose her!"

"No shit!"

"Fly between the buildings! That might slow her down!"

Rocket didn't answer, but he followed Quill between the buildings. Crys followed behind, hitting her wings and sides against the buildings. But while it did slow her down to a degree, she also seemed to get angrier.

But soon though, she was caught between two buildings that were close enough together to where her whole body was blocked. She crashed into the buildings with a surprised expression. Clinging to them with her claws so she didn't fall to the ground, she roared angrily after the escaping and climbing pods.

"What the hell was _that?!_" Quill exclaimed as he let the ship go, hoping to further distract the rogue Crys. He shook his head as he and Rocket flew out of the atmosphere, "You know what? I'll ask later. We gotta help Gamora!" He jumped at a loud explosion, and his eyes widened in horror at what he saw.

Gamora was floating out in space, unconscious and surrounded by the remains of her destroyed mining pod. The orb was among the wreckage, and was taken by one of Ronan's ships via a small tractor beam. The ship smoothly turned around, and the others behind it followed.

Rocket had joined Quill as the orb was stolen, and stared at the scene in astonishment as well. Sighing regretfully, he said, "Quill, come on. Her body mods should keep her alive a couple more minutes, but there's nothing we can do for her. These pods aren't meant to be out here. In a second, we're gonna be in the same boat." He turned the pod around to go back to Knowhere, but stopped when he realized he was the only one. "Quill?"

As he turned around, over the intercom, he heard Quill contacting Yondu. "My coordinates are 227K324!"

"Quill, what are you doing?!" Rocket asked, rejoining him.

"Just outside Knowhere. If you're there, come get me! I'm all yours."

To Rocket's astonishment, Quill's mining pod opened, and the Terran floated out, equipped with his mask. His rocket boots were switched on, and he was propelled to Gamora's still unconscious body.

Realizing what he was doing, Rocket protested, "Quill, don't be ridiculous! Get back into your pod! You can't fit two people in there, you're gonna die!" He saw Quill deactivating his mask. "You'll die in seconds! Quill!"

Their communication was shut off. Rocket watched as Quill put his mask on Gamora and held her close to him. He couldn't see Quill's face, but knew the effects of the lack of atmosphere were starting.

Then, behind the floating figures were the Ravagers' M-ships. When Quill turned his head towards them, Rocket could see his skin was covered in white spider web-like designs, and his eyes were red. In front of them was Ravager Mothership, which was big enough to hold all of the smaller M-ships, plus more.

Suddenly, there was a loud, angry roar. Rocket turned to the side, only to see Crys come flying towards them again, looking very angry. "Crys, no!" he yelled, despite knowing she couldn't hear him, and wouldn't listen to him.

Before Rocket could fly towards Crys to try and distract her, and just as she was nearing Quill and Gamora, who were now caught in the Ravager Mothership's tractor beam, one of the Ravagers' M-ships shot once at her, hitting her in the side. She shook her head and tried to roar at the M-ship, but nothing came out. Another M-ship shot at her from the other side. She bared her teeth at the other ship. "Don't hurt her!" Rocket shouted.

He could see Crys was starting to cough from the lack of oxygen. Her body was slowly becoming iced over, and her eyes began changing from blue to red. She pumped her wings and chased the M-ships flying into a hatch under the mothership. The other M-ships flew in as well, and the hatch doors shut after them.

Rocket could only sit and watch as the Ravagers took his friends and sister, and flew away.

* * *

Back on Knowhere, Groot found Drax floating in a large vat of yellow spinal fluid. Hoping he wasn't dead, he reached in with his roots, pulled him out, and dropped him on the ground on his back. When he realized he wasn't breathing, Groot extended a long, sharp branch from his finger, like a claw, and shoved it into Drax's chest, making some of the liquid splash out of his mouth.

Drax's eyes flew open, and he coughed up more of the liquid, inhaling deeply and wheezily. Groot pulled his "claw" out of his chest and helped him sit up as he continued to cough.

A mining pod came crashing down several feet away, and Rocket climbed out. "Blasted idiot," he grumbled. "They're _all_ idiots!" He jumped to the ground and turned to see Drax sitting up in the dirt, with Groot kneeling on one knee behind him.

When the Flora Colossus gave Rocket a questioning look, the furry alien yelled, "Quill just got himself captured! And Crys somehow lost her usekh, and was taken too!"

Groot's eyes widened in horror; no wonder Crys wasn't with Rocket, or anywhere nearby.

"_None_ of this ever would have happened if _you_ didn't try to single-handedly take on a f_rickin' army!_" Rocket yelled angrily at Drax.

The tattooed alien glared at him, but sighed, "You're right. I _was_ a fool." He turned his gaze down to the ground in shame. "All the anger…all the _rage_…was just to cover my loss."

Groot laid a comforting hand on Drax's shoulder. Rocket stood in stunned silence, only to scoff mockingly, "Oh, boo-hoo-hoo. 'My wife and child are dead!'"

Groot gasped in shock, holding his free hand to his mouth. "Oh, I don't care if it's mean!" Rocket snapped. "_Everybody's_ got dead people. That's no excuse to get everyone else dead along the way!"

Drax looked up at Rocket as if to yell at him, but let his head fall again. Groot glared sternly at his friend, very near to asking what Crys would say to him.

Sighing, Rocket said, "Come on, Groot. Ronan has the Stone. The only chance we got is to get to the other side of the universe as fast as we can, and maybe, just _maybe_, we'll be able to live full lives before that _whack-job_ ever gets there."

"What about your dragon?" Drax asked.

"You didn't see her, but she was a monster," Rocket answered, glaring darts at the tattooed alien. "She wasn't herself; she was a full-blown dragon. If she doesn't have her usekh, then...she's basically a lost cause," he sighed bitterly. He didn't add that there was also the possibility that Crys was dead. She was basically a wild animal, and the Ravagers could very well have killed her by now. He clenched his fists at his side. Even if he didn't show it, he cared for Crys, almost as much as he cared for Groot, and didn't want to think of the possibility that she was dead.

Groot's eyes widened in shock at Rocket's statement. The furry alien simply turned away without another word. The Flora Colossus stood to his feet and said gruffly, "I am _Groot_!" **[We _have _to save them!]**

"_Save_ them? _How?!_"

"I am Groot." **[They're our only friends, and she's our sister]**

"I _know_ they're the only friends that we ever had, and she's our sister," Rocket agreed. "But there's an army of Ravagers around them. And there's only two of us!"

Drax pushed himself wearily to his feet. "Three," he corrected, patting Groot once on the back with an expression of gratitude.

Rocket clenched his teeth in anger and turned around, growling loudly. "Gah!" he grunted, turned around, and began to kick a large clump of grass. "You're making me. Beat. Up. Grass!"

* * *

After Rocket was finished kicking plants, he said, "Before we leave to find them, we need Crys's usekh. If we don't have it, we can't get her back to normal. Where did you see it go?" he asked Drax.

"That way," he pointed.

"Hopefully it didn't go far," Rocket sighed, starting to head for the direction the tattooed alien pointed.

The small group of beggar kids from before came running up. The little girl whom Groot gave the flower to was in the lead; she had the flower in her hair, and was holding something over her shoulder: Crys's usekh.

Rocket's eyes widened in shock, and he froze as the little girl approached him, still clutching the large golden necklace. "We found this on the ground," she explained. "I remembered that the nice tree's dragon friend had it, and I thought she would want it back." She held the heavy usekh out to Rocket. "Can you give it back to her, please?"

He blinked a few times before taking the usekh and slinging it over his own shoulder. "Um…thanks, kid," he nodded.

Groot stepped forward and patted the girl on the head, like Crys had done before. "All right, let's go." Rocket yelled.

Sending a grateful look back at the children, Groot lumbered after Drax and Rocket.

The three of them found the _Milano_ where they had originally left it. "Let's just hope we find them," he growled, taking control of the ship.

As they flew out of Knowhere, keeping an eye out for the Ravagers, Drax asked slowly, "Why is she afraid of me? And why does she need her usekh?"

Though he didn't use her name, Rocket knew he was talking about Crys. "She didn't have a happy life," he answered shortly, still angry about the whole situation. "You wanna know the full story? Ask her yourself." He muttered grimly under his breath, "If you ever get the chance, that is."

Drax turned to Groot, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to understand him. The Flora Colossus shook his head.

The tattooed alien remembered back on Knowhere, in the casino, Crys was speaking negatively about family, as well as her own father. Did her family treat her poorly? Was her father cruel to her? That still didn't explain why she needed her usekh. And what did Rocket mean by "she was a monster"? That she wasn't herself? She was already a dragon, wasn't she? It didn't make any sense. So many questions.

Crys was very mysterious indeed.

* * *

**A/N I couldn't believe how excited everyone was! It was my most reviewed chapter so far; I was really impressed. That's why I tried my very best to touch up on this chapter to make it the best it can be.**

**I have a rough height chart comparing Crys to the other Galaxy Guardians that I haven't uploaded to DeviantART (the "Comparing Heights" page from the MrInitialMan website helped; if you search "MrInitialMan", there should be a link that includes "Comparing Heights" in the search results. It's actually pretty fun to fiddle around with) Crys herself is 6'8" in her anthro form (mostly due to her neck) and her Beast form, which is what happens when she removes her usekh, stands at about 12 feet when she's standing normally, or about four feet shorter than an average giraffe. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how big I wanted Crys to be when she's in her regular Drakonehm dragon form; I wanted her to be large enough to be ridden, while not too terribly big, but I also didn't want her too small. I think 12 feet is a good height. If people would like it, I'll upload the size chart on my DA account.**

**Since everyone was so hyped (or maybe frightened XD) when Crys lost her usekh and set her sights on Rocket and Quill's pods, I really wanted to make her chasing them as good as possible (is that grammatically correct?) Obviously she wouldn't catch them, but there were a couple of close calls. I'd imagine it sort of like when the T-Rex was chasing the jeep in Jurassic Park; I'm honestly kinda surprised I didn't have Rocket or Quill mutter "Must go faster." XD**

**I'm not 100% sure how outer space works; meaning Crys probably wouldn't be able to fly through space using just her wings alone. But Quill was able to "fly" to Gamora and not simply keep floating away, so I think I can work around things. Physics isn't always accurate in movies. Plus, I thought Crys flying up again to grab Quill and Gamora again would have made for a good "scene".**

**Originally, I was going to have the M-ships grab Crys with their tractor beams and pull her into the hatch in the mothership. However, I thought that it probably wouldn't make sense for the M-ships to have tractor beams (I'm not that much into sci-fi, so I don't know how space ships would theoretically work) So I decided it would make more sense for the M-ships to shoot at Crys, and her to chase them into the hatch; they probably weren't really planning on taking her along. They just wanted to distract her so she didn't eat Quill. Hopefully this was fine.**

**I thought that rather than simply search for the usekh, it'd be cute for the little girl from before would find the usekh, remember that Crys had it, and try and find the people she [Crys] was with to give it back. She doesn't know what happened to Crys, she just knows she had the usekh and would probably want it back. EDIT: Rocket's muttering line after telling Drax to ask Crys about her life was suggested by raphlav18; I thought it was a good suggestion, and decided to add it. He also gave me a tip on Rocket's reasoning for leaving Crys. Thanks, Raphlav :D**

**I hope you guys liked this chapter. It'll be a few more days before I post the next one (the last pre-written chapter) I'm not sure if I'll be writing several chapters in advance, as it was sort of spur-of-the-moment, but it was a nice experiment nonetheless.**


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**Wanli8970: Truthfully, I didn't realize it until I was proofreading the chapter XD Since Crys is very unstable and uncontrollable without her usekh, Rocket knew that she more than likely didn't have a chance; plus, the Ravagers don't know about her, and don't know that they shouldn't kill her (which they didn't, by the way; she's still alive ;)) Not only is it a case of this being Marvel, I'd say it's a bit realistic. As for how the Ravagers will handle Crys, you'll have to wait and see ;)**

* * *

Luckily, after a little while, they found the Ravager Mothership, floating in outer space. "This is it?" Drax asked.

"Yup," Rocket nodded, "the very ship that captured Quill, Gamora, and Crys."

"I am Groot," **[I hope Crys is all right,]** Groot sighed mournfully.

"…Me too," Rocket mumbled under his breath. Inhaling deeply through his nose, he positioned the _Milano_ so it was in front of the mothership.

"How will we get their attention?" Drax asked.

"I got an idea," Rocket grinned. "Groot, you know that weapon I made that I promised could blow up moons?"

"I am Groot?" **[The Hadron Enforcer?]**

"That's the one," he nodded. "Go get it." When Groot went deeper into the _Milano_ to find the weapon, Rocket turned to Drax. "Go put on a spacesuit."

"What's your plan?"

"You'll see," he winked.

Shrugging, Drax stood up and pulled a spacesuit. Groot came back, holding the weapon Rocket asked for. "Drax, you go take the Hadron Enforcer on top of the _Milano_, but _don't_ fire it at the mothership. Only use it when _I_ say so."

Now understanding the plan, Drax took the Hadron Enforcer from Groot, climbed out on top of the M-ship, and aimed it at the mothership.

Pressing a button, Rocket fired several shots at the mothership from the _Milano_. When he saw the crew gathered at the main window, he yelled at them through the intercom, "Attention idiots! The lunatic on top of this craft is holding a Hadron Enforcer. It's a weapon of my own design," Rocket added proudly. "If you don't hand over our companions _now_, he's gonna tear your ship a new one…a very _big_ new one!"

"I ain't buyin' it!" the Ravager leader, Yondu, yelled back at Rocket.

"I'm giving you to the count of five," Rocket threatened. "Five, four, three—"

"Rocket, it's me, for God sakes!" Quill suddenly shouted over the intercom. "We figured it out! We're fine!"

"…Oh, hey, Quill," the furry alien greeted friendlily. "What's going on?"

Groot bent down over his friend's shoulder and asked, "I am Groot?" **[Where is Crys?]**

"Yeah, where _is_ Crys?" Rocket nodded, carrying a slightly-threatening tone in his voice.

On the _Eclector_, Quill's eyes widened. He turned to Yondu and asked, "Was there an orange dragon with blue eyes?!"

One of the crewmembers nodded, "Yeah! A great big orange dragon tried to attack you! It chased a couple of us into the hatch."

"Is she alive?" Gamora asked.

"Far as I know. We got her held up in the cargo hold."

"Rocket!" Quill yelled back through the intercom. "We've got Crys! You got her usekh?!"

"You bet we do!" the furry alien answered, just as Drax had climbed back into the _Milano_ and taken off the suit.

Quill turned to his surrogate father and said, "Yondu, you gotta let them onboard! They know how to calm down the dragon!"

Narrowing his eyes, Yondu asked Rocket, "You're not gonna blow up the ship, are ya?"

"Not if you let us onboard."

Sighing heavily, Yondu nodded to one of the crewmembers. They opened the hatch, allowing the _Milano_ to fly into the _Eclector_.

Quill and Gamora, as well as the other Ravagers, ran down to the dock in time to see Rocket, Groot, and Drax climb out of the _Milano_; around Rocket's shoulder was Crys's usekh. "Where is she?" he asked.

"This way," Yondu's second-in-command, Kraglin said. He led them all to the cargo hold, where muffled, yet loud snarls were heard.

Through a large glass window, everyone could see Crys was in the cargo hold. But she wasn't free; long, strong chains were wrapped around her legs and neck, and she was held down by several Ravagers holding the chains. Her muzzle was also bound, constricting the snarls coming from her mouth, and disabling her ability to bite and breathe ice. Even though she was constrained, she still tossed her head around, flapped her wings, and tried to thrash her legs and tail around.

Quill, Gamora, and Drax starred wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the dragon. This was the first time they had ever seen her like this. She was almost unrecognizable in this form, since they were so used to her being a little over six feet tall, and docile.

"You sure you can get her to stop tryin' to kill us?" Yondu asked, sounding very unconvinced.

"Of course," Rocket snorted, shifting the usekh on his shoulder. "I just gotta get in there to get it around her neck—"

"What?!" Quill exclaimed. "Do you not see her thrashing around?!"

"I've handled her like this before _without_ her being restrained, I think I know what I'm—"

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned in surprise to Drax. "It's my fault that this happened to her."

"Why? What even happened?" Quill asked.

"She tried to attack Ronan, and he hit her away. Her usekh fell off as a result. It was my fault that it happened, so I'll fix it."

Rocket furrowed his eyebrows, still clutching the usekh. He still didn't trust Drax after all of the trouble he caused; especially since Crys was still wary around him. But he was right in that it was his fault Crys was in this situation, so it made sense that he should fix it.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Rocket gave Drax the usekh with a warning glare.

He looped the usekh easily around his shoulder and looked expectantly at Yondu. "…Let 'im in," the blue-skinned leader nodded to one of the Ravagers.

The Ravager led Drax to a door leading into the cargo hold. As he approached Crys, she actually stopped thrashing around to eye the tattooed alien. No recognition was seen in her expression; she simply stared down at him with a half-curious, half-irritated expression. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her lips were curled as much as they could be under her muzzle, and her eyes were wide and wild.

Everyone held their breath Drax looked up at the dragon without any fear in his expression and body language. "I know you fear me," he said, despite knowing she wouldn't, and couldn't, respond. "But you have no reason to. I won't harm you; I only wish to help you."

Crys's eyes narrowed, and she lunged at Drax, growling. It almost seemed like she remembered him, and remembered that she still wasn't comfortable around him. The Ravagers held the chains tightly to keep her from moving around too much, though they were still dragged a few inches.

Drax barely even flinched when Crys tried to attack him. He grabbed the chain that was connected to her neck and pulled her head down to his level. She pulled back with a lot of strength, but he still managed to pull her down. Still gripping the chain, he shoved the usekh over her head. He yanked the chain from the Ravager holding it, and pushed the usekh so it slid further down her neck.

After a few seconds, Crys actually began to shrink back to her previous size, and some parts of her body rearranged themselves with audible snaps. Her groans of pain turned into screams, which then turned into whimpers.

"Let go of the chains," Yondu shouted through the glass at the Ravagers still holding the chains. "Yer gonna tear her in half!"

The Ravagers in the cargo hold let the chains slip through their hands as Crys collapsed on the ground and continued to shrink. By now, she was curled in a fetal position, groaning and whimpering in pain. Everyone in and outside of the cargo hold could hear her bones cracking, as if they were snapped and fused back together.

Finally, Crys was back to her two-legged form. The chains were very loose around her limbs; the chain wrapped around her snout had fallen off, the ones around her arms and legs were barely hanging on, and the chain that was around her neck was only held on thanks to her usekh. Her arms and legs were folded under her body, and she folded her wings around her front to hide her face.

For a second, no one moved. Finally, Drax slowly approached the dragon, still hearing her labored breath and slight whimpers. When he was right in front of her, he crouched down and gently pried her wings apart.

Her head was down so she was staring at the ground, and her paws were wrapped around her snout. When she felt his gaze on her, she lifted her head slowly to look at him. Her ears were bent back, and her eyes were watery. Her facial expression had pain, embarrassment; but mostly shame.

"…I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely.

Drax didn't say anything. He only stared at her with an unreadable expression.

The others were let into the cargo hold. Groot hurried over to Crys and pulled her up into a tight hug. Pushing and kicking the chains off of her arms and legs, she hugged him back, burying her face in his chest.

Rocket climbed up onto Groot's shoulder and pulled the chain out from between Crys's usekh and neck. "You okay?" he asked.

She lifted her head from Groot's chest and nodded. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"I know," he nodded solemnly. His relieved expression hardened into a stern one, and he growled, "Don't ever do that again!"

To an outsider, they would think Rocket was being unfair to Crys, since her usekh falling off was an accident. But Crys would argue that losing her usekh was partly her fault, since she tried to attack Ronan, thus getting attacked herself, and that Rocket was masking the relief he felt that his sister was all right. She knew him well enough to know that he was very happy that she was safe and sound. She responded with a watery smile and a weak chuckle.

Quill and Gamora came into the cargo hold as well just as Groot was letting Crys go. "Are you all right?" the green-skinned woman asked.

"I'm fine," she nodded, rubbing her arm. She remembered everything that had transpired her animalistic rage, including going after Quill, Rocket, and Gamora. She hung her head in embarrassment and shame.

Quill patted her shoulder, causing her to look at him in confusion. "You're back to normal now," he said, smiling. "As long as you don't lose your necklace again, everything'll be fine."

"Usekh," she corrected with a smirk.

"Whatever," he shook his head with a small laugh.

Clasping his hands together with a loud clap, Yondu stepped forward and said, "All right, now that everything's hunky-dory again, and the dragon's calmed down, what was it you said before, boy?" he asked Quill.

* * *

**A/N There seems to be a glitch where new reviews aren't showing up. I've gotten a few new reviews in the past several days, one being on my Grinch story, but they aren't showing up when I go to the review sections of the stories. I still have the email notifications for such reviews, but I hope the glitch is fixed (I got more than one review, I just tend to not reply to people who are basically begging for me to update; I just don't know what to say to such reviews)**

**I didn't realize that the weapon Rocket made to "blow up moons", and the Hadron Enforcer were the same thing until I saw it in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki (kind of a mouthful of a name) It's also the weapon used against Ronan later, which is pretty neat.**

**I thought it was funny that Rocket was threatening to blow up the Ravagers' mothership (which is apparently called the _Eclector_) and then greets Quill as if meeting him on the street XD But of course, he's right back to the threatening-tone when it comes to Crys.**

**I'd imagine the Ravagers are too surprised to immediately kill Crys. They'd probably assume she's a regular, wild dragon (even if the dragons of Drakonehm are able to speak different languages, they're still wild animals; Crys is just a tamed dragon) Plus, with her looking like an Ignis and breathing ice, they'd assume (correctly) that she's a rare one; they're all about stealing and selling to make a profit, so had Rocket and the others not come to calm her down, they'd probably attempt to sell her.**

**I thought it'd be a really nice touch to have Drax be the one to put Crys's usekh back on her for a couple of reasons: 1) it really IS his fault that she's like this, since she was punched aside by Ronan, who Drax had called; so it's kind of his responsibility to fix the mess. And 2) it kind of shows Crys that she can trust him.**

**Don't worry, she's not gonna be depressed forever; she's just very ashamed and embarrassed that she caused so much trouble. Plus, it's the first time her new friends saw her like that, and she would have preferred if she told them about it, rather than show it.**

**So, this is the last pre-written chapter. I'll probably try and update my Grinch fanfic next. I kind of liked having several chapters already written that I can tweak a bit before officially posting. Not sure if it'll be something permanent, but like I said, it was a good, albeit accidental, experiment.**


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**Wanli8970: I'm sure everyone else is glad as well. There was actually a recent glitch that prevented people from uploading new documents to the Doc Manager, which was fixed, thankfully. I can't argue with that.**

**whitewolf7410: You know it's a good story when you begin reading it, and then the next thing you know, it's 4 in the morning XD**

* * *

"You called that 'figured it out'?!" Rocket exclaimed incredulously.

He, Groot, Crys, and Drax were sitting in a small circle, while Quill and Gamora were standing; they were in a small room in the _Eclector_, away from the Ravagers. "We're just gonna rob the guys who just beat us senseless?" Rocket continued.

"Oh, you wanna talk about senseless?" Quill scoffed. "How about trying to save use by blowing us up?!"

"We were only gonna blow you up if they didn't turn you over!" Rocket defended.

"And how were they gonna turn us over when you only gave them to the count of five?" Crys asked, having been told what had happened before her usekh was returned.

"Well, we didn't have time to work out the _minutiae_ of the plan. This is what we get for acting altruistically."

"I am Groot," **[They're ungrateful,]** Groot sighed.

"They _are_ ungrateful," Rocket agreed.

"We're ungrateful for you attempting to blow us up?" Crys scoffed.

Shaking her head dismissively, Gamora said, "What's important now is we get the Ravagers' army to help us save Xandar."

"So we can give the Stone to Yondu, who's gonna sell it to somebody even worse?" Rocket snorted.

"We'll figure out that part later," Quill said.

"We _have_ to stop Ronan," Gamora added.

"How?" Crys asked.

"…I have a plan," Quill announced.

"_You've_ got a plan?" Rocket asked.

"Yes."

"First of all, you're copying me from when I said _I_ had a plan—"

"No, I'm _not_," the Terran argued. "People say that all the time; it's not that unique of a thing to say."

"—Secondly, I don't even believe you have a plan."

"I have…_part_ of a plan!"

"'Part of a plan'?" Crys quirked an eyebrow.

"What percentage of a plan do you have?" Drax asked, finally speaking.

"_You_ don't get to ask questions after the nonsense you pulled on Knowhere," Gamora scolded, pointing at the tattooed alien.

"I just saved Quill and Crys!" he objected.

"We've already established that you destroying the ship that we're on is not saving us," Quill countered.

"_When_ did we establish it?"

"Like three seconds ago!"

"I wasn't listening," Drax shrugged, "I was thinking of something else."

Gamora groaned in frustration, and Crys rolled her eyes. "She's right," Rocket said. "You don't get an opinion."

Crys looked at Quill and asked, "What percentage of a plan do you have?"

Glancing to the side, he answered, "I don't know, twelve percent."

Everyone gaped at him in astonishment. "Twelve percent?" Rocket threw his head back, laughing loudly.

"That's a fake laugh!" Quill accused.

"It's real!"

"That's a fake laugh! Quick vote," he looked at the others.

Drax raised a hand and agreed, "Fake laugh."

"I'm eighty percent sure it's a fake laugh," Gamora nodded.

"Groot? Crys?" Quill asked.

Both the Flora Colossus and dragon raised their hands; Crys was smirking slightly in amusement.

"That is the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh of my entire life," Rocket huffed, "because _that_ is not a plan!"

"It's barely a concept," Gamora agreed quietly.

"You're taking their side?" Quill asked incredulously.

"I am Groot," **[It's better than eleven percent,]** Groot offered, shrugging.

"So what, it's better than eleven percent?" Rocket scoffed. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Thank you, Groot," Quill smiled, patting him on the arm, "thank you. See? Groot's the only one of you who has a clue."

However, when Quill turned to look back at Groot, the Flora Colossus was chewing on a leaf sticking out of his shoulder. Quill shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Guys, come on," he pleaded. "Yondu is gonna be here in two seconds; he expects to hear this big plan of ours. I need your help."

"It's not exactly a big plan," Crys scoffed.

Sighing heavily, Quill glanced at everyone and said, "I look around at us. You know what I see? Losers."

Drax and Rocket eyed him in confusion, and Gamora and Crys exchanged raised eyebrows. "I mean, like, folks who have lost stuff. And we have. Man, we have. _All_ of us. Our homes, our families; normal lives."

Gamora and Drax glanced down at their feet in forlorn, silently agreeing with what Quill was saying. Crys's ears tilted, and she chewed the inside of her cheek. It was her own fault that she lost her family, and chance of a normal life; she was the one who attacked them, and the one who stole the usekh.

But on the other hand, it wasn't her fault that she was pushed and bullied to her breaking point. It wasn't her fault that she was born different from her clan. She didn't choose to have ice breath; if she had the choice, she would have chosen the normal life.

Regardless, everyone else were "losers", in Quill's terms, for reasons that weren't within their control; she had controlled her own "loser life". But she kept her tongue at the moment.

"And usually, life takes more than it gives," Quill continued, "but not today. Today, it's _given_ us something. It has given us a chance."

"To do what?" Drax asked quietly.

"To give a shit," Quill answered, "for once, not run away. I, for one, am _not_ gonna stand by and watch, as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives."

"But, Quill," Rocket said in a surprisingly solemn voice, "stopping Ronan, it's impossible. You're asking us to die."

"And for people who don't care if we die," Crys added.

Glancing between the furry alien and dragon, Quill sighed, "Yeah. I guess I am." He slowly turned away, rubbing his face with one hand in defeat.

Everyone looked down at the floor in silence. The threat of Ronan was real and great, but they weren't willing to risk their lives for people who would sooner arrest them than ask for their help. And though they didn't admit it, they were scared. They had survived threats before, but Ronan was something entirely different. With the Stone in hand, he was something akin to a god, something indestructible; something that could kill them with a simple flick of the wrist.

Finally, Gamora broke the silence, "Quill." She looked up at him as he turned to face her, and continued, "I have lived most of my life surrounded by my enemies." She stood up from her seat and said, "I will be grateful to die among my friends."

After a few quiet seconds, Drax stood as well. "You are an honorable man, Quill," he said as Quill rejoined the circle. "I will fight beside you. And in the end, see my wife and daughter again."

Groot rose as well, saying simply, "I am Groot." **[I will fight as well.]**

Inhaling deeply, and sighing shakily, Crys said, "No one will thank us for this. No matter if we live or die, no one will thank a group of wanted criminals for saving the galaxy. We'll either live criminals, or die criminals," she stood to her feet and grinned meekly, "either way, we're gonna have a lot of fun, I think."

Quill rolled his eyes and looked at Rocket. Everyone followed his glance at the last person sitting. He tossed his head back with an irritated sigh, and said with a smirk, "Oh, what the hell. I don't got that long a lifespan, anyway." He turned in his seat, and stood on the metal box he was previously on. "Now I'm standing. You all happy?" he asked sarcastically. "We're _all_ standing up now. Bunch of jackasses, standing in a circle."

"Yes, we're happy," Crys chuckled. "So, Quill, have you figured out the rest of your plan?"

* * *

**A/N Sorry that it's taken a while to update; between the glitch I mentioned earlier, and being sick a couple of weeks ago, for a week, I didn't find much time to be writing.**

**Sometimes when I'm writing scenes from a movie with an added character, I find there are times when my character is barely there; it's as if I'm rewriting the scene, with barely any changes. I tried to add in Crys enough so we know she exists, yet she's not taking up the bulk of the scene.**

**The extended fake laugh scene is actually a deleted scene I found on YouTube (it's easy to find with a quick search) It was probably deleted because it needlessly expanded the scene, but I thought it was pretty funny myself.**

**Crys is, in my opinion, probably only half a loser. She attacked her clan herself, and made the decision to steal the usekh and change her body. However, had her family and clan not have treated her so poorly, none of that would have happened. According to them [her family and clan] however, if Crys wasn't born with ice breath, they wouldn't have a reason to treat her poorly. But she didn't have a choice in that matter; they just didn't care. In that sense, she lost her family and clan before she even grew up. Sure her mother and baby sister still loved her, but that was a fraction of the whole clan. She had also lost the respect of her family and clan, and probably wouldn't have much respect elsewhere. Plus, because of everything that had happened, she lost her home (she was stolen and sold to a zoo, if you don't remember)**

**Cry's statement when she basically volunteered to die was inspired by Prince John's line from Robin Hood: Men in Tights; it's where he talked about there being a wedding and a hanging, and basically they were gonna have a lot of fun. It's not my favorite Mel Brooks movie (Blazing Saddles takes that honor) but it's still pretty funny.**


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**ThatCrazyLion: Thanks :D**

**Wanli8970: Maybe. That's fine. Not only does she believe that because she herself is a criminal, but her family/clan didn't really care much for her either; she imagined if something happened to her, her mother (and maybe her sister) would be the only person to care about her.**

**wolfimus prime: Gotta love grumpy characters XD Thanks :)**

* * *

Once Quill told them his plan, he turned around and went back to the door of the room. Once he opened the door, Yondu immediately approached him and asked, "So, boy, what's your plan?"

"Gather everyone in here, and we'll tell you," Quill answered.

Grunting in response, the Ravagers leader looked over his shoulder and called out to the other Ravagers. Soon, the six criminals were joined by several Ravagers. "What'cha got, Peter?" Yondu's first mate, Kraglin, asked.

Clearing her throat, Gamora stepped up and said, "The Stone reacts to anything organic. The bigger the target, the bigger the power surge."

"All Ronan's gotta do is touch the stone to the planet's surface, and zap!" Quill exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "All plants, animals, Nova Corps."

"_Everything_ will die," Crys added grimly.

"So Ronan does _not_ make the surface," Quill said firmly. "Rocket," he nodded to the furry alien, "will lead a team to blow a hole in the _Dark Aster's_ starboard hull. Then, our craft and Yondu's will enter."

"Won't there be hundreds of Sakaaran soldiers inside?" Kraglin asked skeptically.

"I think of Sakaaran as paper people," Drax said smugly.

Crys and Gamora glanced at each other with a confused expression, but shrugged it off. "Once they know we're on board, Ronan will isolate himself behind impenetrable security doors on deck, which I can disable by dismantling the power source."

"We'll make it to the flight deck, and I'll use the Hadron Enforcer to kill Ronan," Quill said.

"Once Ronan is dead, we will retrieve the Stone. Use these devices to contain it," Crys said, holding up a tray of orbs. "If you touch it, it _will_ kill you," she warned.

"I'll contact one of the Nova officers who arrested us," Quill added. "Hopefully, they'll believe we're there to help."

"There's one more thing we need to complete the plan," Rocket said.

_Here we go again,_ Crys rolled her eyes, exchanging a smirk with Groot.

"That guy's eye." He pointed at a Ravager with a false eye.

"No!" Quill exclaimed. "No, we don't. No," he said sternly to Rocket, "we don't need that guy's eye."

"No, seriously," Rocket protested, trying to hide a snicker. "It-it's important to me."

"No, it's not," Crys chuckled. "He's just joking."

"What you _will_ need, however, are some change of clothes," Yondu said.

"Why is that?" Gamora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If you're gonna work with the Ravagers, ya gotta dress like the Ravagers."

"We could probably do with a change of clothes," Quill shrugged.

"Peter, you lead your friends to rooms to change," Kraglin said, "and we'll get the ships ready."

Quill nodded, and said, "Groot and Crys can't wear clothes, so they can stay behind."

They nodded and waved goodbye as Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Drax, as well as the Ravagers, left the cargo bay. Crys took a deep breath, and sighed heavily. "Well, this is it."

Groot nodded, grunting. "I am Groot?" **[Are you afraid?]**

Pinning her ears back, she whispered, "A little, I suppose. I'm more afraid of dying than of the actual fighting."

Smiling kindly, the Flora Colossus hugged the dragon, wrapping her in several vines. Crys smiled and nuzzled her snout against his neck. After several minutes, Groot let her go and stepped back. He "cracked" his neck and flexed his shoulders, causing little branches to pop out of his shoulders. As he plucked one from his cheek, Crys giggled at his show-off attitude. She flexed her claws, pumped her wings a couple of times, and roared loudly, baring her teeth. Groot chuckled at her display.

"You understand that creature?"

Groot and Crys turned at the voice, finding that Yondu was still in the cargo hold. "Dragons can understand almost all vocal languages," she explained. "So, yes, I can understand Groot with ease." She fiddled with her claws and said, "Um, I'd like to apologize for what happened earlier."

"What, you mean when you were big an' wild?"

Pursing her lips slightly, she nodded, "Yes. I have little control over it. If I lose this," she fingered her usekh, "I turn to my true form in an uncontrollable animalistic rage. That is why I must have it on me at all times."

Humming, Yondu nodded shortly and left the cargo bay. "Think the others are finished dressing?" Crys asked.

"I am Groot," **[Perhaps,]** Groot answered. They both exited the cargo bay and wandered through the _Eclector_ until they found Quill stepping out of a room, now wearing a red uniform and pants, and black boots; two guns were holstered to his hips. "Hey, guys," he greeted.

"Hello," Crys nodded. "Are the others nearby?

"Nearby, and nearly ready," he answered. "Are you and Groot ready?

"As ready as we can be," she sighed.

Gamora, Drax, and Rocket joined them, all wearing Ravager garb; Drax himself was only wearing the pants and boots, and his knives were attacked to the sides of his boots. Gamora also had two guns, and Rocket had his Laser Cannon over his shoulder. "We ready?" he asked.

Everyone either nodded or confirmed verbally that they were. As they walked down the hall, a voice said over the intercom, "Ronan's fleet has been spotted, and will arrive in t-minus fifteen minutes."

"Good timing," Quill remarked as they continued down the hall; Rocket separated from them to board his M-ship, the _Warbird_.

Yondu stopped Quill as they approached the _Milano_, while the others continued on ahead and climbed into the ship. Quill soon joined them. "What did he want?" Gamora asked.

"Oh, just told me that I was to give him the Stone, otherwise he'd kill us," he shrugged, smirking slightly. "Y'know, the usual."

Crys and Drax glanced at each other, each with an eyebrow raised, but said nothing. The holding bay opened, and dozens of M-ships flew out of the _Eclector_, including the _Milano_. "This is a terrible plan," Gamora deadpanned.

"_Now_ you say this?" Crys asked.

"Hey, you were the one who said you wanted to die among friends," Quill chuckled lightly.

After several minutes, Crys said, "So…I guess since we all know about each other, except for me…I guess it's only fair I tell you all my story."

"Why are you so hesitant to share?" Drax asked.

"It's not a very pretty story," she answered. Taking a few deep breaths and sighing several times, she said, "All right, I'll start from the beginning, I suppose. As some of you may know, there are three kinds of dragons on Drakonehm: the fire dragons, Ignises; the ice dragons, Glaciems; and the poisonous dragons, Venenums. I'm an Ignis dragon, like the rest of my family, but I was born during the winter months, and so was born with icy breath. I was a shame to my entire clan."

"Why is that?" Gamora asked.

"Because Ignises and Glaciems despise each other. No one quite knows why. So, imagine my parents' reactions to having a dracling with ice-breath, when they themselves are fire-breathers, much less the entire clan's reaction."

"Not too happy, I'm guessing?" Quill asked.

"That would be an understatement," Crys snorted. "My mother at least tried to accept me, but my father was disgraced. And my entire clan hated me. I was bullied many times, simply for having something that I had no control in having. Even my baby sister began to hate me." She was gripping the armrests of the seat at this point.

"Did your parents not protect you?" Drax asked.

"My mother tried to, but my father…he didn't seem to care. He and the elder even tried to take me to the nearby Glaciem clan. They didn't accept me because I was still an Ignis, and I was barely a yearling. My father was less than pleased afterwards. He even scolded me for fighting back against my bullies. These scars," she released an armrest to finger the scars on her left side, "not all of them are from my criminal years. When I was a young adult, all of the pain, anguish, and anger that had built up finally reached its peak." She chewed her lip nervously; when she told her story, this was the part that was always the hardest to tell. "One evening, I…I exploded. I was so angry at my family and clan for hating me because of something I didn't ask for…I attacked them. I froze them with my ice-breath, and attacked anyone who didn't run away. I killed many dragons that day, including my own parents." Crys blinked against the tears that were beginning to grow in her icy-blue eyes. "I had never felt so guilty and ashamed."

"They had it coming," Gamora said kindly, reaching back to lay a hand on the dragon's arm. "They all treated you poorly."

"Especially your father," Drax growled through gritted teeth. "A father isn't supposed to hate or hurt his children; he is supposed to protect and love them for who they are! _He_ is the one who should be ashamed, not you."

Crys glanced over at him, smiling slightly in appreciation. "The reason I was…afraid of you, Drax, is because one of my bullies told his uncle _I_ was the one bullying _him_, and his uncle happened to be the biggest and strongest dragon of the clan. He chased me around the volcano we lived near, and trapped me inside a small cave for two hours…it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life."

"…So, what happened with the necklace?" Quill asked. "How'd you get that?"

"…I stole it. It was originally in Mt. Antiqua, the largest mountain on Drakonehm; it contained many treasures, one of which was the Usekh of Humanus. Whoever wore it would convert to this form. However, when it was removed, they would return to their true form in an uncontrollable, animalistic rage."

"If it had that risk, why did you steal it?" Gamora asked.

"I didn't ever want to hurt anyone in my true form," Crys answered. "I thought that if I changed myself, I wouldn't cause any more harm…I was proven wrong time and time again when I lost my usekh. I was captured and sold to a traveling zoo before I met Groot and Rocket. So, that is my story. Judge me how you will, but the past is the past, and I can't change it."

"…I don't blame you for attacking your family," Quill said.

"Neither do I," Gamora added. "They had no right to hurt you like that."

"Absolutely no right," Drax agreed.

Crys's ears pinned back, and she smiled in gratitude. "Thank you. I didn't really consider myself a…loser, since I lost my family and home due to my own actions."

"You still lost your family," Quill pointed out. "You just lost them before you grew up."

Crys looked down at her knees in thought. Quill was right; her family and clan had turned their backs on her long ago, causing her to effectively lose them. She was still ashamed for her actions, but she felt a little better knowing that her friends weren't hard on her for it.

* * *

**A/N I tried to write it to where the gang changed clothes before telling the plan, but I couldn't really write it that well; so I decided to have them tell the plan first, and then change clothes. I know it was the other way around in the movie, but I couldn't figure out how to put it on paper (or text) in a way I like it, if that makes any sense.**

**I also know that Groot looked like he was in his own room preparing for battle, but I figured that he (and Crys) would stay behind while the others got dressed, since they don't wear clothes (Crys would have trouble wearing clothes because of her wings and tail)**

**Finally, Crys tells everyone her story (Rocket and Groot already know it, so Rocket's not left out of the loop) I think I portrayed Gamora, Quill, and Drax pretty well during that part of the chapter. Crys still carries a lot of guilt over what she did, even if her clan deserved it, and she may carry some guilt for the rest of her life. But I'm trying my best to not let it take over her; she still gets sad when she tells the story, but she doesn't think about it all of the time (at least not anymore)**

**Probably only a few more chapters, and this story is done. I'm probably not going to do much of an epilogue, so with the battle against Ronan, there'll probably be at least three more chapters. I'll be glad when this is done; I've been working on it for so long. I'm stuck in Writer's Block Hell for my Grinch story, but when I'm done with this story, I'll be able to focus more on it. THAT story's got a long time before it's over.**


	29. Chapter 28

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

* * *

After several minutes, the Ravagers came upon a giant, wide, black spaceship. It looked like it was divided into several sections, and was twisting and untwisting itself. "There it is," Gamora sighed, "the _Dark Aster_. Ronan's ship."

"Think they know we're coming?" Quill asked.

The _Ravager Constructions_—two large battleships—each fired a large ball of energy at the _Dark Aster_, and hit a large invisible force field, creating a bright, orange explosion.

"They probably do now," Crys remarked.

"Cover it down! Submerge!" Yondu said over the intercom.

All of the M-Ships flew down under the explosion and back up to face the _Dark Aster_.

"Rocket, hurry!" Quill shouted, as the furry alien's M-Ship, as well as two others, flew ahead and began shooting at the starboard hull, attempting to break through.

From between the sections of the opposing ship came millions of _Necrocrafts_, looking not unlike a swarm of insects. Quill carefully maneuvered through them to keep up with the _Dark Aster_, all the while firing at the smaller ships.

Finally, the shooting M-Ships were able to break a hole in the starboard hull. "Quill! Yondu! Now!" Rocket exclaimed through the intercom.

The two main M-Ships flew quickly to the bigger ship, dodging and shooting the numerous _Necrocrafts_ trying to slow them down.

Suddenly, Yondu cursed, "Oh hell! I'm going down, Quill!"

Gasping, Quill looked out the window, only to see Yondu's damaged ship hurtling towards Xandar. "No more games with me, boy! I'll see you at the end of this!"

"Quill, we can't go back," Crys exclaimed. "We have to keep going!"

He nodded curtly, and thrust the _Milano_ forward with all of his might.

One of the _Necrocrafts_ bounced off of the port-side wing, making the M-Ship shake briefly. "There are too many of them, Rocket!" Gamora yelled. "We'll never make it up there!"

She seemed to be right. As many of the smaller ships were shot down, many more seemed to come. Suddenly, new ships joined the fleet; yellow and blue star-shaped ones. "What are _those_?!" Crys asked in surprise.

"Peter Quill," a deep, familiar voice sounded from the intercom, "this is Denarian Saal of the Nova Corps. For the record, I advised _against_ trusting you here."

"They got my 'dick' message!" Quill exclaimed joyfully.

"Prove me wrong."

Smirking, Quill pushed a lever, sending the _Milano_ hurtling straight into the hole the M-Ships had previously made. "Yes!" Drax shouted, laughing like a mad-man, as the ship slid through a corridor, being bombarded by hundreds of shots. Quill turned the ship so it turned around, and shot back at the shooting soldiers, before the _Milano_ came to a stop.

"Yes!" Drax yelled again, with one final laugh.

Crys let out a loud roar, chuckling as well.

"We're just like Kevin Bacon," Gamora said to Quill with a slight smile.

Groot turned to Crys with a confused expression; she simply shrugged.

"All right, let's do what we came to do," Quill said, unbuckling and standing up. The others followed him out of their own seats, and out of the _Milano_. Gamora tapped a few buttons on a door, and it was opened. She led the group into the dark, dusty room, which became even darker when the door closed behind them.

"I can barely see," Drax remarked.

"What I wouldn't give to be able to breathe fire," Crys sighed.

Groot lifted his arm, and thousands of glowing particles gently flew out, bathing the room in a golden glow.

The others paused and stared at the sight with wide eyes and dropped jaws. "When did you learn to do that?" Drax asked quietly.

"Pretty sure the answer is 'I am Groot'." Quill remarked.

"The flight deck is three hundred meters this way," Gamora said, stepping forward again.

The others followed behind among the millions of glowing particles still floating in the air.

"…I want you all to know that I am grateful for your acceptance after my blunders," Drax said after a few seconds of silence. "It is pleasing to once again have…friends. You, Quill, are my friend."

"Thanks," he nodded.

"This dumb tree, he is my friend."

Groot simply grunted, not quite knowing how to respond.

"This cowardly dragon, she is my friend."

Crys raised an eyebrow, but smiled, "Shucks, I'm speechless."

"And this green whore, she too—"

"Oh, you must stop!" Gamora yelled angrily.

There was a grunt from above, and the blue, robotic woman they previously saw on Knowhere jumped down in front of them. "Gamora," she said venomously, "look at what you have done. You have _always_ been weak. You stupid, traitorous—"

Suddenly, the woman was blasted away. Gamora, Quill, Crys, and Groot turned to Drax, who was holding a smoking rocket blaster. "Nobody talks to my friends like that," he said firmly.

Glancing at the others, Gamora said, "Head to the flight deck. I'll shut down the power to the security doors."

Nodding, the others jogged on ahead, while she walked off to the right. Their jog turned to a run, until they had to stop in what looked like a weapon room. Hundreds of soldiers blocked their path, including someone Quill had met before: Korath the Pursuer.

The Kree cyborg grinned maniacally upon seeing Quill, "Star Lord."

"Finally," Quill grinned, happy someone finally recognized him.

While he was distracted, Korath grabbed the Terran up and threw him to the side. Drax, Groot, and Crys quickly jumped into battle; Drax sliced at Sakaarans, Groot shoved them easily aside, and Crys kicked, punched, and froze any soldier that came close to her.

Quill activated his mask, only to be thrown aside yet again. "You thief!" Korath snarled, standing over him.

With a savage yell, Drax threw one of his knives at Korath, but the Kree cyborg dodged it, causing one of the Sakaarans to be stabbed in the face.

Drax charged at Korath; as the two fought, Crys helped Quill to his feet. A Sakaaran ran to attack her from behind, but Groot grabbed him up and hurled him away from his sister.

Korath shoved Drax to the ground and kicked him across the face. "You will _never_ make it to Ronan," he growled.

With a roar, Crys leapt onto Korath from behind, wrapping her wings around him so he couldn't escape. She tried to sink her fangs into his neck, but was met with cybernetic parts. He pried her wings apart and backhanded her in the nose, making her jump off with a pained squeal.

Groot shoved a Sakaaran aside, and grabbed another one up by the throat before slamming him to the ground, and kicking him away.

Drax stood up and attacked Korath again. Quill jumped to his feet, activated his rocket boots, and flew up and forward a few feet, shooting and kicking a few soldiers away. He fell hard to the ground, but pulled out his guns and shot more soldiers as he slid backwards. He crashed into Crys, who was checking to see if her nose was bleeding. "Sorry," he said as he stood up.

Cry's eyes widened, and she yelled, "Duck!"

They both ducked down before their heads were sliced off, and the two of them stood back-to-back, shooting and freezing Sakaarans left and right.

Drax finally was able to punch Korath to the ground. He grabbed him up by his uniform, and slammed him against a wall, and grabbed one of the cybernetic parts sticking out of his head. "Finger to the throat means death," he snarled sinisterly before pulling out the implant, while Groot, Quill, and Crys watched in awe.

Korath's head began sparking, and he was convulsing as he slid down the wall. Drax turned to the others and nodded briefly, "Metaphore."

"Yeah, sorta," Quill shrugged.

"Um, guys?" Crys said. "We have company."

Several more Sakaarans came running into the room towards them. Before anyone had time to react, Groot shoved his arm forward, extending it as he did, and impaled several soldiers. Yelling, he lifted his arm up, slammed the Sakaarans to the floor, and thrashed his arm around several times, taking out the rest of the soldiers. Quill glanced at Drax and Crys, who grinned and shrugged respectively.

Finally, Groot pulled his arm out of the dead Sakaarans, shrunk his arm back to normal, and turned to smile at the others. "Good job, buddy," Crys nodded.

"A little overkill, but yeah," Quill agreed, patting the Flora Colossus on the shoulder. "Good job."

* * *

**A/N Not too much to report. All I have to really say is the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki helps a lot with what the ships are called; especially if it isn't said in the movie.**

**Crys being called a "cowardly dragon", and her answer are references from The Wizard of Oz; obviously from the Cowardly Lion, and his response to getting his medal at the end of the movie.**

**I think one of my favorite moments from the movie was when Korath addressed Peter as Star Lord, and he was just so happy XD**


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

* * *

The four criminals ran on ahead, fighting off various other soldiers, until they found the giant door Gamora was meant to open. "Quill, you gotta hurry," Rocket said over the Terran's intercom. "The city's been evacuated, but we're getting our asses kicked down here."

"Gamora hasn't opened the door!" Quill protested, looking up at it as if glaring at it would cause it to open.

Throwing a Sakaaran off of her back, Crys ran to the door and pressed her ear against it. "Hear anything?" Quill asked.

"Not really," she shook her head. "It's too thick." She stepped back several feet, stood on all fours, and charged at the door, leaping at it with claws outstretched. She crashed into it and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"You just said it's too thick," Quill scoffed.

"I said it was too thick to hear anything through it," she countered, standing and cracking her neck, "not that it was too thick to break down."

Tossing his head back as if he were rolling his eyes, Quill unfolded the Hadron Enforcer as Groot pounded his arms against the door. Crys looked it up and down, wondering if freezing the door would weaken it, or make it stronger, maybe even sealing the door permanently.

Before anyone could try anything, the door suddenly opened, revealing two more Sakaaran soldiers. Someone shot behind the soldiers, and Gamora leapt down, holding a large gun. She shot one of the soldiers, and Drax attacked another with his knives.

With the soldiers down, the five criminals gathered in the middle of the hall and turned to the left. At the end of another hall, looking out a large window at the still-flying _Necrocrafts_, was a cloaked figure holding a large, long-handled hammer. The figure turned to the group, revealing blue skin, black tribal markings, and glowing purple eyes: Ronan the Accuser.

Quill aimed the Hadron Enforcer, powered it up, and fired a single shot straight at Ronan's chest. The impact caused a bright flash and loud boom. The group flinched away from the blast—save for Quill—and slowly uncovered their eyes to see the room full of dust. Quill silently deactivated his mask, and everyone stared into the settling dust with baited breath. "You did it!" Drax exclaimed.

Crys's eyes narrowed as she starred into the dust. "Wait a minute…" she trailed off, ears slowly pinning back.

A dark form rose up from the ground, still gripping the hammer, which was now glowing purple. Ronan was still alive.

As he slowly turned to face them once again, the group glanced at each other, dumbfounded. If that didn't destroy him, what else could they try?

Staring at them in silent contempt, Ronan raised his hammer at the group. "The Stone!" Crys whispered.

The others saw what she had realized: the hammer had the Stone.

Ronan twisted the hammer, creating a shockwave that knocked the group back several feet, making them crash on the stairs. Drax immediately jumped to his feet and charged at Ronan, screaming savagely. Ronan grabbed the tattooed alien up by the throat effortlessly, and stared at him. "I was mistaken," he remarked. "I _do_ remember your family. Their screams were _pitiful_. I—"

He was cut off by a loud sound. He turned to the window, only to see an M-Ship charging straight for the window, and straight for Ronan. The ship smashed into the ship, knocking Ronan and Drax back, as well as two soldiers piloting the ship. Quill and Crys body slammed Groot and Gamora respectively to the ground, narrowly avoiding the sliding ship.

The _Dark Aster_ began exploding in several places, and began to slowly fall from the sky. Groot nudged Quill off of him, stood up, and looked around the room. There was rubble all over the place, some of which was on fire, and he could see through the hole where the window used to be that the ship was falling.

Quill approached the broken ship, and saw the pilot was knocked out: it was Rocket. He gently pulled the furry alien out of the seat and cradled him in his arms. Gamora and Crys found Drax, who was also unconscious, and they both pulled him by his arms to Groot; Quill also joined them, still carrying Rocket.

The group huddled together as the ship seemed to be falling apart all around them. Each of them had the foreboding feeling that they were going to die.

As the ship continued to plummet to Xandar, Groot looked among his friends, and silently decided what he needed to do. He stretched out his arms, and branches and roots began to grow outwards until he made a large cocoon, holding everyone inside, and attaching itself to the remaining walls of the _Dark Aster_. As Rocket slowly regained consciousness, branches grew from the sides of the cocoon and held Quill, Gamora, Crys, Rocket, and Drax securely, and glowing orbs floated about, bathing everyone in a golden glow. "What are you doing?" Crys whispered painfully, feeling even more afraid for her brother.

"No, Groot!" Rocket exclaimed softly, pulling himself from the branches and leaning against Groot's chest. "You can't, you'll die! W-why are you doing this?! Why?"

"Groot, please," Crys begged, her heart feeling heavy with dread.

Smiling at his best friends, Groot extended two branches and brushed the growing tears from Rocket and Crys's faces. "We…are…Groot," he said slowly.

Rocket clenched his fists and buried his face into Groot's chest. Crys kissed the Flora Colossus on the cheek and nuzzled his shoulder.

Soon, the _Dark Aster_ crashed into Xandar, just barely missing the Nova Corps Headquarters. As the dust settled, everyone watching soon saw several figures slowly push themselves to their feet; a radio from the _Milano_ was playing music nearby.

Rocket knelt by scattered branches, heads hung in grief. "I called him an idiot," he muttered, clutching several branches.

Crys looked around at the wreckage, and paled at the sight of the scattered branches. "Groot, no," she whispered, clutching the ground with her claws.

From the wreckage emerged another figure: much to everyone's horror, Ronan was still alive.

* * *

**A/N There's actually not much going on, but I felt that the ending would make a good cliffhanger. After this, just one more chapter, and this story is finally done. I'll be really happy once this is done; then I'll just have to start writing for my Grinch story (I tend to have trouble with that one a lot) I think it'll be easier to focus on one story rather than two.**


	31. Chapter 30

**A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.**

**ThatCrazyLion: I'M SORRY!**

**Sana: That WOULD be something to consider, except Crys can't really control herself in her True Form, and wouldn't be able to get her usekh back on (the others would have a lot of trouble getting it back on her two) Plus, who's to say she would go after Ronan alone? Still a good idea to consider, just not practical in the long run.**

**Wanli8970: That's fine. Hope you had fun on vacation.**

* * *

Everyone backed away from the approaching Kree, whimpering and clutching one another in fright. Standing, Rocket growled, "You killed Groot!"

Crys let out a loud angry roar from where she stood. Rocket charged at Ronan, but the Kree simply knocked him back several feet with a shock-wave from his hammer. Crys fired an ice beam at Ronan, having learned her lesson about attacking him back on Knowhere, but the same thing happened again. The dragon spread her wings and covered her head with her arms as the shards of ice flew back to her.

"Behold!" Ronan exclaimed mockingly. "Your guardians of the galaxy! What fruit have they wrought?! Only that my father, and _his_ father, shall finally know vengeance! People of Xandar, the time has come to rejoice, and renounce your paltry gods!" He raised his hammer, which had started glowing purple, up over his head. "Your salvation is at hand!"

Crys's eyes widened. _He's going to destroy Xandar!_

"Ooh-oo, child," a voice began singing, "things are gonna get easier."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Crys turned to the voice, only to see Quill standing on his feet, staring at Ronan, as he moved in place. As he continued singing, Ronan lowered his hammer, though not to strike the ground, but to stare at the Terran in utter confusion. Crys glanced at Gamora, and saw she had a look of confusion on her face as well.

"What are you doing?" Ronan asked as Quill began dancing harder.

"Dance-off, bro," he answered, as if it were obvious, "Me and you." He turned to Gamora and held out a hand. She shook her head quickly. "Crysy, c'mon," he tried the dragon, but she simply stared at him, cocking her head in bewilderment. Shrugging, he continued dancing.

"_What_ are you _doing_?!" Ronan asked again, sounding angry.

"I'm distracting you, you big turd-blossom," Quill grinned cheekily, glancing behind the Kree.

Ronan looked over his shoulder, and Gamora and Crys saw what, or who, were behind him: Rocket and Drax, the latter of whom was holding the Hadron Enforcer.

Rocket shoved two raw wires against each other, and the weapon fired straight at Ronan's hammer, destroying it, and releasing the Stone. Both Ronan and Quill leapt for it, as Gamora shouted, "No!"

As soon as Quill grabbed the stone, he,and everyone else, fell to the ground, and were surrounded by billowing dust and clouds of black and purple. Among the loud sounds that she was sure were coming from the Stone and dust, Crys could hear Quill screaming in pain. She pushed herself to her knees, which was no easy task, and was horrified t see Quill's clenched left hand was glowing purple, and the flesh was peeling away from his face. He slowly stood up, still screaming painfully.

"Peter!" she heard Gamora shout desperately, reaching out to her friend, "Take my hand!"

He slowly turned to her, and Crys saw his expression subtly change from pain to shock and...mourning? And he muttered something, but she couldn't hear what it was. By now, there were cracks in his skin, which were glowing purple, as if he had always glowed purple from the inside-out.

"Take my hand!" Gamora yelled again.

Quill slowly took her hand, and they both threw their heads back in agony; Gamora began glowing purple as well.

"_Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even _they_ were quickly destroyed by it."_ Crys's eyes widened when the Collector's words rang through her ears again. She crawled towards Gamora, and saw Drax approach Quill, grab his left shoulder, and throw his head back as well. She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed Gamora's upper right arm.

Pain engulfed her entire body, causing her head to involuntarily snap back, and a scream to bubble through her throat. It felt nothing like when she lost her usekh and turned into her true form. She felt like her entire body was on fire and frozen at the same time, and she felt her skin beginning to peel from her body on her face, neck, and arms.

Suddenly, Crys found the pain was becoming bearable, though still there. She looked forward and glared at the Kree, still standing in front of the group. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Gamora, Quill, Drax, and Rocket—who was gripping Drax's finger—were, glaring as well, and were all glowing purple, and had dark eyes with purple irises; eyes like Ronan had before.

"You're mortal!" Ronan gaped in shock. "How?"

"You said it yourself, bitch," Quill said coldly, "we're the Guardians of the Galaxy."

Growling, Ronan wound back his hammer. Quill opened the hand that was holding the Stone, and bright-purple energy flew out from it, and seemed to grab Ronan and levitate him a few feet into the air. He began glowing bright purple as well, and exploded with an agonizing scream.

The energy returned to the Stone, and Gamora, with Crys still holding her arm, slammed her containment unit onto Quill's still open-palm, sealing the Stone inside. The pain ebbed away, and the dust cleared, revealing the newly-christened Guardians of the Galaxy to all of Xandar. The group let go of each other, panting tiredly and glancing at each other, happy that it was all over.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice rung, "quite the light show."

Quill, Gamora, and Crys turned to see Yondu, as well as the rest of the living Ravagers standing at the lip of the crater the Stone explosion had created. Chuckling, Yondu remarked, "Ain't this sweet? But you got some business to attend to before all the nookie-nookie starts." He looked pointedly at Quill.

"Peter, you can't," Gamora pleaded.

"You gotta reconsider this, Yondu," Quill said. "I don't know who you're selling this to, but the only way the universe can survive is if you give it to the Nova Corps."

"I may be as pretty as an angel, but I sure as hell ain't one," Yondu shook his head. He held out his hand, and said, "Hand it over, son."

Glancing down, Crys noticed Quill holding the orb behind his back, tapping one finger against it. Quirking an eyebrow, she moved her tail in front, though still behind Quill, wrapped the tip of her tail around the orb, and moved it behind her. Quill took another orb out from under his jacket and gave it to Yondu, acting reluctant. Chuckling, Yondu signaled for the other Ravagers to move out, having gotten what they came for; or so they thought.

"Yondu," Quill called out as the Ravager captain began to leave, "Do _not_ open that orb...you know that, right? You've seen what it does to people?"

Yondu pointed a finger at Quill with a knowing expression, and followed his men out of the crater and to their ships. Everyone watched as the Ravager ships rose and flew off, disappearing into the atmosphere.

Crys tossed Quill the orb with her tail with a smirk. She heard him remark about how Yondu was going to be pissed when he found out the switch as she joined Rocket, who was sitting on the ground again, gently holding a twig in his hands, and sniffling. Crys sat down as well, feeling her heart break with grief, remembering that one of her best friends was gone. She let the tears fall down her snout as she nuzzled Rocket, who was still crying.

Drax sat down slowly between the two, holding an arm against his abdomen, and looked knowingly at Rocket. As the furry alien continued to sob, clutching the twig against his chest, Drax lifted his right arm and gently ran his hand down Rocket's head. He flinched at the physical contact, but didn't stop Drax as he continued to stroke him. The tattooed alien turned to Crys, and laid a hand on the back of her neck.

The dragon tensed, still feeling a tiny twinge of fear towards the alien. But as she stared at him with tear-filled eyes, it quickly melted away as his hand ran up her neck to the back of her head, and rubbed behind her ear, just as Groot had done. With a mournful sob, Crys buried her face into the crook of Drax's neck and cried against him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and continued to comfort the two grieving creatures, perfectly understanding the pain they were going through.

* * *

Several hours later, the group had been healed, cleaned up, and given official Nova Corps. Clothing. Rocket had placed the biggest piece of Groot in a pale of dirt, hoping something would happen. "He _is_ a plant alien, after all," Quill had shrugged, hoping inside that the Flora Colossus would somehow regrow. He already missed Groot.

Now, Crys, Rocket, and Drax had been released after a full check-up, and were being led to the main conference room, where Quill and Gamora were. Thinking back on something, Crys asked, "Drax? Back on the _Dark Aster_, what you said...did you mean it?"

"Indeed," he nodded. "You are all my friends."

"I figured that, but I meant what you said about me being cowardly." She chuckled at the confused expression on the tattooed alien's face. "I'm kidding! I'm only joking. But...I _am_ glad you meant what you said, about us being friends. I never really had friends growing up."

"C'mon, Crys," Rocket groaned, "don't go sappy on me! 'Sides, you had me and Groot!"

Smiling again, she nodded, "I know, but it's nice to have more than two friends."

"What'd I say about going sappy?"

Crys just laughed more, with the furry alien eventually joining in with a few chuckles. The three of them stepped through automatic doors, and found Quill and Gamora, along with the rest of the Nova Corps., standing and looking at a Terran hologram. "Your friends have arrived," Nova Prime said to Quill. She stood before the ragtag group and said, "On behalf of the Nova Corps., we'd like to express our profound gratitude for your help in saving Xandar. If you will follow Denerian Dey," she nodded to the officer, "he has something to show you."

Quill and Gamora thanked her, and joined the group in following Dey out of the conference room. Gamora joined Crys and Drax, and said to him, "Your wife and child shall rest well, knowing that you have avenged them."

Crys nodded in agreement. "Yes," Drax answered. "Of course, Ronan was only a puppet. It's really Thanos I need to kill."

Crys and Gamora froze at the statement, before sharing a knowing glance, shaking their heads, and continuing on. "I think I'm more astounded that he knows not one, but _two_ metaphors," the dragon remarked.

"Hmm," Gamora nodded.

Soon, Dey led them outside the Nova Corps. building. "We tried to keep it close to the original as possible," Dey said, gesturing forwards. "We salvaged as much as we could."

Everyone gaped at the sight before them: the _Milano_, rebuilt and good as new. Quill was stammering in shock, before saying, "Thank you."

Glancing to the side, Dey said, "I have a family. They're alive because of you. Your criminal records have also been expunged."

The group glanced among themselves, astonished. "However, I have to warn you against breaking any laws in the future."

"Question," Rocket said. "What if see something that I want to take, and it belongs to someone else?"

"Well, you will be arrested."

"But what if I want it more than the person who has it?"

"Still illegal," Dey shrugged with an amused smile.

"That doesn't follow," Rocket said stubbornly. "No, I want it _more_, sir. Do you understand? What're you laughing at?" he asked Gamora as she chuckled and nudged him towards the _Milano_. "Why? I can't have a discussion with this gentleman?"

As the two of them walked to the ship, Drax asked thoughtfully, "What if someone does something irksome, and I decide to remove his spine?"

Glancing at Quill, Dey said, "That's...that's actually murder. It's one of the worst crimes of all, so also illegal."

"What if I freeze someone in place, not actually killing them?" Crys asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well...you could still possibly kill them, and freezing them alone could count as assault. Could still be illegal."

Both Crys and Drax hummed in thought, glanced at each other, and shrugged, before heading for the _Milano_ as well.

Inside, Quill opened the colorful package he had yelled at Rocket for touching. He found a letter from his deceased mom, and a new "mix-tape,", as he called it. He placed it in the slot in the wall, pressed a button, and turned a dial. It began playing soft music, before getting louder as a man and woman sang. After a while of listening to the song, the group walked to the front of the ship, and sat into their seats. "Crys!" Rocket exclaimed.

Crys leapt forward off of her seat next to Drax and stood beside Rocket's, gasping with delight. The twig in the pot began to split, and a familiar face yawned from the main branch. The ends of two tiny branches split into tiny fingers. "It'll take a while before he's his original size," Crys chuckled, nuzzling the baby Groot gently with her snout. He wrapped his arms around her nose, squeaking in recognition, before turning around and smiling widely at Rocket.

Smiling, Quill asked, "What should we do next? Something good? Something bad? Bit of both?"

"We'll follow your lead...Star-Lord," Gamora replied, standing next to him.

"...Bit of both!"

_The Guardians of the Galaxy  
will return._

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**A/N Oh MAN! I'm glad this is done! Between writer's block, and getting used to a different keyboard (had to send my laptop to get fixed, and use my gaming computer for most of my stuff; I am NOT used to a chunky keyboard!) this took a while. But I managed to do it!**

**I figured after what happened when Crys charged Ronan the last time, she'd learn to attack from a distance. Especially since this isn't the time to lose her usekh.**

**Has anyone seen the blooper when Quill challenged Ronan to a dance-off? Funniest. Thing. EVER! I laughed my ass off at it when I first saw it XD It's easy to find on YouTube, and I guarantee it'll make you laugh, especially when you know how the scene actually went in the movie.**

**I really wanted to use Crys's "tail trick" somehow at this part, but couldn't figure out a way to do it just right.**

**I think my favorite scene, in this chapter, was when Drax was comforting Rocket and Crys; especially Crys. Not because she's my character, but because it shows her growth. Before, she wouldn't let Drax touch her because she was afraid of him. But because she got to know him better, and he knows what she and Rocket are going through, she's not afraid of him anymore.**

**I was motivated to finish and upload this chapter because of the GotG: Vol 2 sneak peak released today! It was awesome, funny, and cute :3 I'm SUPER excited for it next year!**

**So, this is finally finished! It took so long to finish mostly because of writer's block, but I did it. Not sure if there'll be a sequel right after this (I'll more than likely write one after seeing GotG: Vol 2; more than likely when I get the DVD) especially since I'd rather write for other franchised: The Grinch (the one I'm writing) Death Note, Undertale, and Zootopia. If there are any mistakes in this chapter...I BLAME MY CHUNKY KEYBOARD!**


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